Research Findings # 0

Table E. Prescription medications^a: Standard errors for median and mean expenditures per person with expense and distribution of expenditures by source of payment, U.S., 1997. Corresponds to Table 5.

Annual total expense per person with expense

|
|
|
|

Percent distribution of total expenses by source of payment

Population characteristic

Total population (in thousands)

Percent with expense

Median

Mean

|
|
|
|

Total expenses (in millions)

Out of Pocket

Private Insurance^b

Medicare

Medicaid

Other public programs^c

Other^d

Total

†

0.42

3

9

|

2,042

0.7

0.9

0.3

0.6

0.2

0.1

|

Age in years

|

Under 65

†

0.46

2

8

|

1,541

0.8

1.0

0.2

0.7

0.3

0.1

Under 6

†

1.21

2

6

|

92

1.8

2.6

0.0

2.2

0.2

0.1

6-17

†

0.84

2

10

|

241

2.4

2.8

0.0

3.3

0.2

18-44

†

0.64

2

10

|

775

1.2

1.6

0.2

1.2

0.2

0.1

45-64

†

0.72

10

19

|

997

0.9

1.2

0.4

0.8

0.5

0.1

65 and over

†

0.78

19

22

|

1,018

1.3

1.4

0.7

0.4

0.2

|

Sex

|

Male

†

0.58

3

13

|

1,108

1.0

1.2

0.4

0.7

0.6

0.1

Female

†

0.49

5

9

|

1,257

0.9

1.0

0.3

0.7

0.1

|

Race/ethnicity

|

White and other

†

0.5

5

10

|

1,964

0.8

1.0

0.3

0.6

0.3

0.1

Black

†

1.01

5

19

|

407

1.9

2.1

0.8

1.8

0.8

0.3

Hispanic

†

0.87

3

14

|

249

1.7

1.5

1.8

1.3

0.2

|

Health insurance status^e,f

|
|
|

Under age 65:

|

Any private

3,813

0.53

2

9

|

1,333

0.8

0.9

0.2

0.1

Public only

1,148

1.06

6

24

|

553

1.4

0.4

0.6

2.0

0.9

0.3

Uninsured

1,060

1.03

4

18

|

258

2.6

0.0

2.6

0.7

Age 65 and over:

|
|

Medicare only

430

1.55

30

33

|

364

1.9

0.0

1.7

0.2

1.1

0.7

Medicare and private

802

0.92

25

30

|
|

876

1.8

0.8

0.5

0.4

0.0

Medicare and other public

231

2.24

75

53

|
|

242

2.0

0.0

1.9

3.1

1.9

0.6

|

Poverty status^g

|
|

Poor

†

1.01

8

23

|

579

1.9

1.5

0.5

2.2

0.3

0.1

Near-poor

†

1.81

15

32

|

286

2.3

2.0

0.7

2.6

1.0

0.8

Low income

†

0.91

8

18

|

524

1.8

1.6

0.9

1.6

0.4

Middle income

†

0.72

5

16

|

1,060

1.3

1.5

0.5

0.7

0.5

0.1

High income

†

0.72

6

13

|

1,058

1.1

0.4

0.3

0.5

0.1

|

Metropolitan statistical area (MSA)^e

|
|
|

MSA

†

0.49

3

9

|

1,577

0.8

0.9

0.3

0.6

0.3

0.1

Non-MSA

†

0.77

12

24

|

1,232

1.7

1.8

0.5

1.4

0.5

0.2

|

Census Region

|
|

Northeast

†

1.02

9

22

|

862

1.4

2.0

0.7

1.3

0.5

0.3

Midwest

†

0.84

8

20

|

999

1.4

1.7

0.3

1.2

0.6

0.2

South

†

0.74

6

15

|

1,325

1.3

1.5

0.4

0.9

0.4

0.2

West

†

0.78

5

15

|

785

1.4

0.8

1.0

0.5

0.1

|

Perceived health status^e

|
|

Under 65 years

|
|

Excellent, very good , or good

4,036

0.49

2

7

|
|

1,129

0.8

0.9

0.1

0.6

0.2

0.1

Fair or Poor

620

0.96

28

38

|

785

1.5

1.8

0.6

1.6

0.7

0.2

65 years and over

|
|

Excellent, very good , or good

798

0.97

19

22

|
|

690

1.5

0.9

0.8

0.6

0.3

Fair or Poor

423

1.04

34

47

|

582

2.3

2.6

1.0

1.3

0.7

0.1

^aExpenses for all prescribed medicines initially purchased or otherwise obtained during 1997, as well as any refills, are included. Free samples are included in the estimate of percent of persons with any expense.

^bPrivate insurance includes CHAMPUS and CHAMPVA (Armed-Forces-related coverage).

^cOther public programs include Department of Veterans Affairs (except CHAMPVA); other Federal sources (Indian Health Service, military treatment facilities, and other care provided by the Federal Government); other State and local sources (community and neighborhood clinics, State and local health departments, and State programs other than Medicaid); and other public (Medicaid payments reported for persons who were not enrolled in the Medicaid program at any time during the year).

^dOther includes Worker's Compensation; other unclassified sources (e.g., automobile, homeowner's, liability, and other miscellaneous or unknown sources); and other private insurance (any type of private insurance payments reported for persons without private health insurance coverage during the year, as defined in MEPS).

^eNumber of persons and amount of expenses do not add to overall total because data on this variable were not available for some sample persons.

^fUninsured refers to persons uninsured during the entire year. Public and private health insurance categories refer to individuals with public or private insurance at any time during the period; individuals with both public and private insurance and those with CHAMPUS or CHAMPVA (Armed-Forces-related coverage) are classified as having insurance.

^gPoor refers to incomes below the Federal poverty line; near poor, over the poverty line through 125 percent of the poverty line; low income, over 125 percent through 200 percent of the poverty line; middle income, over 200 percent to 400 percent of the poverty line; and high income, over 400 percent of the poverty line.

† Standard error approximately zero because of poststratification to Census Bureau population control tables

Note: These estimates are for a target population of approximately 271.3 million persons who were in the civilian noninstitutionalized population for all or part of 1997. Percents may not add to 100 because of rounding.

Source: Center for Financing, Access, and Cost Trends, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality: Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, 1997.

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