Previously, when estimating the budgetary effects of legislation regarding prescription drugs, CBO found insufficient evidence of an “offsetting” effect of prescription drug use on spending for medical services. Recently, CBO reviewed dozens of newer studies and determined a body of research now demonstrates a link between changes in prescription drug use and changes in the use of and spending for medical services.
The effect size is that a 1% increase in the number of prescriptions filled by a Medicare beneficiary reduces non-drug expenditures by 0.2%. More here.
