Joseph S. Ross, MD, MHS

Out-of-pocket costs required by Medicare prescription drug plans for drugs available through Walmart’s generic drug discount program have decreased from 2009 to 2017.

Medicare formularies were inconsistent in increasing restrictiveness to drugs that received FDA black box warnings for death and/or cardiovascular risk with safer available drug alternatives.

Only 1.2% of community-dwelling Medicare beneficiaries who received hospital-based observation services in 2010 were discharged to an SNF not covered by Medicare.

We found no consistent associations between physician incentives for quality improvement and 12 measures of ambulatory quality of care.

This population-based study examines socioeconomic and clinical factors associated with scheduled and unscheduled readmissions after discharge among older patients with diabetes.