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The Effects Of Copayments On The Use Of Medical Services And Prescription Drugs In Utah's Medicaid Program, Leighton Ku, Elaine Deschamps, Judi Hilman

Health Policy and Management Faculty Publications

In recent years, a number of states have increased cost-sharing for low-income Medicaid beneficiaries as one approach to Medicaid cost-containment. While copayments have been most commonly applied to prescription drugs, they also have been assessed for other services, such as physician visits, hospital admission, or outpatient clinic use.

Prior research has found that when low-income patients are required to pay more for health care services or for prescription drugs, they use fewer services or medications.[2] In some cases, their health could deteriorate, with the result that they may subsequently require more expensive emergency room or inpatient hospital care. While …