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Affordability of Medications Differs According to Geographic Region
In addition to identifying stroke survivor populations unable to afford medications, Dr. Deborah A. Levine and her associates also found certain regional differences in barriers to care.
The inability to afford medications was similar in the South (weighted percentage 11%; population estimate 184,173), West (10%; population estimate 67,872), and Midwest (9%; population estimate 88,369), but significantly lower in the Northeast (5%; population estimate 37,361). Furthermore, the ability to afford medications appears, based on the survey data, to have decreased in the South, West, and Midwest across the study period, while remaining stable in the Northwest, Dr. Levine said.
Other barriers to care, including percentage of population with annual household income lower than $20,000 and percentage with out-of-pocket medical expenses of $2,000 or more were also significantly lower in the Northeast (see graphic, p. 41), and although uninsured rates were similar across the regions, survivors in the South and West had lower rates of private insurance with or without Medicare (the insurance type associated with the best medication coverage).
Other possible explanations for these findings include differences in prescription drug coverage rates, public assistance rates, and competing household costs—none of which could be directly assessed in the study, she noted.