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Medical Marijuana Laws May Be Associated With A Decline In The Number Of Prescriptions For Medicaid Enrollees.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Bradford, AC; Bradford, WD
Published in: Health Aff (Millwood)
May 1, 2017

In the past twenty years, twenty-eight states and the District of Columbia have passed some form of medical marijuana law. Using quarterly data on all fee-for-service Medicaid prescriptions in the period 2007-14, we tested the association between those laws and the average number of prescriptions filled by Medicaid beneficiaries. We found that the use of prescription drugs in fee-for-service Medicaid was lower in states with medical marijuana laws than in states without such laws in five of the nine broad clinical areas we studied. If all states had had a medical marijuana law in 2014, we estimated that total savings for fee-for-service Medicaid could have been $1.01 billion. These results are similar to those in a previous study we conducted, regarding the effects of medical marijuana laws on the number of prescriptions within the Medicare population. Together, the studies suggest that in states with such laws, Medicaid and Medicare beneficiaries will fill fewer prescriptions.

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Published In

Health Aff (Millwood)

DOI

EISSN

1544-5208

Publication Date

May 1, 2017

Volume

36

Issue

5

Start / End Page

945 / 951

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • United States
  • Medical Marijuana
  • Medicaid
  • Humans
  • Health Policy & Services
  • Fee-for-Service Plans
  • Drug Prescriptions
  • Drug Costs
  • 4407 Policy and administration
  • 4203 Health services and systems
 

Citation

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Bradford, A. C., & Bradford, W. D. (2017). Medical Marijuana Laws May Be Associated With A Decline In The Number Of Prescriptions For Medicaid Enrollees. Health Aff (Millwood), 36(5), 945–951. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2016.1135
Bradford, Ashley C., and W David Bradford. “Medical Marijuana Laws May Be Associated With A Decline In The Number Of Prescriptions For Medicaid Enrollees.Health Aff (Millwood) 36, no. 5 (May 1, 2017): 945–51. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2016.1135.
Bradford AC, Bradford WD. Medical Marijuana Laws May Be Associated With A Decline In The Number Of Prescriptions For Medicaid Enrollees. Health Aff (Millwood). 2017 May 1;36(5):945–51.
Bradford, Ashley C., and W. David Bradford. “Medical Marijuana Laws May Be Associated With A Decline In The Number Of Prescriptions For Medicaid Enrollees.Health Aff (Millwood), vol. 36, no. 5, May 2017, pp. 945–51. Pubmed, doi:10.1377/hlthaff.2016.1135.
Bradford AC, Bradford WD. Medical Marijuana Laws May Be Associated With A Decline In The Number Of Prescriptions For Medicaid Enrollees. Health Aff (Millwood). 2017 May 1;36(5):945–951.

Published In

Health Aff (Millwood)

DOI

EISSN

1544-5208

Publication Date

May 1, 2017

Volume

36

Issue

5

Start / End Page

945 / 951

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • United States
  • Medical Marijuana
  • Medicaid
  • Humans
  • Health Policy & Services
  • Fee-for-Service Plans
  • Drug Prescriptions
  • Drug Costs
  • 4407 Policy and administration
  • 4203 Health services and systems