Racial Disparities in Prescription Drug Use Among Dually Eligible Beneficiaries

Well-documented racial disparities in use of medical services raise concerns about such disparities in other aspects of health care. We compare the difference in Medicaid pharmacy use between black and white dually eligible Medicare beneficiaries. Controlling for the presence of chronic illnesses, we find that black beneficiaries have significantly fewer prescriptions filled and lower pharmacy costs in 8 of the 10 States examined, despite having higher physician costs. If this disparity stems from a lack of provider or beneficiary knowledge, programs to educate providers or beneficiaries may hold the greatest promise for reducing it, whether pharmacy coverage is obtained from Medicaid or from a new Medicare benefit.