{'fraction_non_alphanumeric': 0.03341013824884793, 'fraction_numerical': 0.014976958525345621, 'mean_word_length': 5.485074626865671, 'pattern_counts': {'":': 0, '<': 0, '<?xml version=': 0, '>': 0, 'https://': 0, 'lorem ipsum': 0, 'www.': 0, 'xml': 0}, 'pii_count': 0, 'substrings_counts': 0, 'word_list_counts': {'cursed_substrings.json': 0, 'profanity_word_list.json': 0, 'sexual_word_list.json': 0, 'zh_pornsignals.json': 0}}
Impact of a Cost‐Sharing Drug Insurance Plan on Drug Utilization Among Older People

OBJECTIVES: In August 1996, the Régie de l'assurance‐maladie du Québec (RAMQ), the government body responsible for medical insurance in the Canadian province of Quebec, introduced a cost‐sharing drug insurance plan. Before this plan, individuals age 65 years and older had to pay Canadian (CDN)$2 per prescription, with the remaining cost paid by the RAMQ. With the new plan, beneficiaries may have to pay an amount between CDN$200 and CDN$925 per year, depending on their income. Concerned that this financial constraint imposed on older people might have an impact on the use of medications, we investigated whether the consumption of four classes of medications, antihypertensive agents, anticoagulants, nitrates, and benzodiazepines, was affected by the drug plan implementation.