THE IMPACT OF USER CHARGES ON THE CONSUMPTION OF DRUGS - EMPIRICAL-EVIDENCE AND ECONOMIC-IMPLICATIONS

Expenditure on drugs is increasing rapidly in many countries, and this has led to increased interest in measures to contain drug expenditure . One measure that has been discussed is to increase user charges for prescription drugs. In this article, we consider whether or not raisin g user charges decreases the consumption of drugs. We also discuss how to judge if increased user charges for drugs are desirable from an ec onomic viewpoint. We conclude that the decision to increase user charg es for prescription drugs should nor be viewed as an issue of cost con tainment, but as a matter of balancing the societal costs against the societal benefits of increased user charges.