A new study suggests that because Obamacare has increased access to care, it has also increased prescription drug use while reducing out-of-pocket spending for consumers. It's unclear how this affects health care spending in other sectors.
The study, conducted by the RAND Corporation and appearing in Health Affairs, examined prescription transaction data among 6.7 million prescription drug users to track changes in coverage, usage and spending between 2013 and 2014. The Affordable Care Act's Medicaid expansion and individual insurance exchanges were both implemented in 2014.
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