The size and scope of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is making it difficult for researchers to get the necessary data to form any comprehensive studies from its effects. The political situation that surrounds its inception is not making matters any simpler as it adds partisan elements that shift from day to day. Fortunately, there is one metric doctors can use to approximate the health of enrollees – prescription drug use.

1. The size and scope of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is making it difficult for
researchers to get the necessary data to form any comprehensive studies
from its effects. The political situation that surrounds its inception is not
making matters any simpler as it adds partisan elements that shift from day
to day. Fortunately, there is one metric doctors can use to approximate the
health of enrollees – prescription drug use.
COMPARING
MARKETPLACE ACA
ENROLLEES TO EMPLOYER
SPONSOR PROGRAMS
Crystal Clear RX
East Pikes Peak Avenue, Suite G-
103, Parker, CO 80138
(303) 955-782719753

2. The size and scope of the Affordable Care Act
(ACA) is making it difficult for researchers to
get the necessary data to form any
comprehensive studies from its effects. The
political situation that surrounds its inception
is not making matters any simpler as it adds
partisan elements that shift from day to day.
Fortunately, there is one metric doctors can
use to approximate the health of enrollees –
prescription drug use.
Comparing Marketplace ACA Enrollees to Employer Sponsor Programs
Health Affairs released the study, comparing prescription data on more than a million
Marketplace enrollees to one million Americans in employer-sponsored programs. The
duration of the study lasted from January to September 2014, separating the sample size
into two groups, early (Oct. 2013-Feb 2014) and late (March-May 2014) enrollees. Enrollees
beyond May 2014 wouldn’t have yielded enough data for researchers to form a clear
opinion of their prescription behavior.
Age is a Factor
The study found three important results that could change the way Americans understand
the effects of the ACA. The first was regarding the age of the early enrollees; members of
this group were four years older on average than the late enrollees. The ACA provisions did
favor older enrollees, and prescription use is one of the many ways that confirm the
programs appeal to seniors.

3. Less Prescription Costs
The second finding would be a point of interest for many Americans, because it seems
marketplace enrollees spent less on prescription medication than those under employer
sponsor programs. During the nine-month study period, marketplace enrollees spent an
average of $72 versus the $93 of their counterparts.
Greater Specialized Drugs
The final finding of the study was that marketplace enrollees were more likely to use
HIV medication, with their numbers more than four times that of the comparison group.
In addition, the marketplace group had 36% higher out-of-pocket expenses; a statistic
that may need further study to provide a proper interpretation.
What this study seems to reveal is that the ACA marketplace enrollees did not
experience any adverse selection in their first year. But researchers can’t rule it out
completely because of the possible delays on previously uninsured marketplace
enrollees to obtain care. There is also the matter of accounting for existing undiagnosed
conditions that require consideration when conducting such studies.
http://crystalclearrx.com/
https://www.healthcare.gov/

4. RESOURCES:
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/294551.php
http://crystalclearrx.com/
https://www.healthcare.gov/