Objectives: The objectives of this study were to describe changes in prescription analgesic and antidepressant medications and to track the costs associated with these medication changes when elderly Medicaid beneficiaries move from the community to a nursing home setting.
Design: Retrospective analysis of Medicaid long-term care and drugs claims data for fiscal year 2000 from three different states.
Setting: Long-term care facilities in three different states.
Participants: We studied 1321 elderly Medicaid beneficiaries newly admitted to a nursing home during the study period.
Measurements: Pain medications were grouped into four different categories and all antidepressants were grouped into one category. For each medication category, we obtained the number of unique patients for whom it was prescribed, the number of days it was prescribed, and the amount paid by Medicaid. We then calculated the percentage of subjects prescribed and the amount paid per day for each medication class before and after nursing home admission.
Results: Except for skeletal muscle relaxants, 21% to 39% of beneficiaries already had claims linked to each medication class while still living in the community. After nursing home admission, the percentage of beneficiaries exposed to each medication class increased by 2% to 33%. Cost per day of therapy increased by 10% to 83%. There was significant variation among the states in utilization and cost per day of therapy.
Conclusions: We draw three major conclusions: (1) community-dwelling elderly Medicaid beneficiaries in this study use more prescription analgesics and antidepressants than community-dwelling elders in prior studies; (2) there is a significant increase in medication utilization and cost on nursing home admission; and (3) significant variability in medication use and cost exists among the three states examined. Further investigation to elucidate the reasons for these differences could assist legislators in formulating sound public policy to contain Medicaid expenditures without sacrificing patient care.