Is there a Gender Difference in Cost-related Medication Non-adherence?

Access barriers to medication have been a persistent challenge in care for the poor in the U.S. According to a study funded by the Commonwealth Fund and the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, twenty-six percent of the elderly did not take medication as prescribed due to a cost barrier.

The Medicare Part D outpatient prescription drug program, aiming to reduce access barriers to medication use, was seen to have increased medication utilization in the general Medicare population.

However, for those high-need patients with high-cost disease, multiple morbidities, and disabilities, access to medications has not been shown to improve after the implementation of the Medicare Part D.

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