TABLE 1.
Changes in Prescription Dispensing to US Children After the COVID-19 Outbreak, Overall and by Age Group, Dispensing Channel, and Payer Type
| Category | No. Prescriptions Dispensed to Children in 2019 (% of the 299 188 743 Prescriptions Dispensed in 2019) | Unadjusted Percentage Changesa | Coefficients From Segmented Regression Models | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % Change in Dispensing (April to August 2020 Versus April to August 2019) | % Change in Dispensing (September to December 2020 Versus September to December 2019) | % Change in Dispensing (April to December 2020 Versus April to December 2019) | Intercept | Change per Month Before April 2020 | Level Change in April 2020 | Slope Change in April 2020 | ||
| All drugs | 299 188 743 (100.0) | −24.7 | −29.8 | −27.1 | 26 245 168* | 631 | −5 329 970* | −333 017 |
| Age group, y | ||||||||
| 0–2 | 32 989 896 (11.0) | −45.9 | −51.4 | −48.7 | 2 912 785* | −11 454 | −982 899* | −55 949 |
| 3–9 | 86 362 416 (28.9) | −35.9 | −45.6 | −40.6 | 7 961 025* | −9734 | −2 189 437* | −156 586 |
| 10–19 | 179 836 431 (60.1) | −16.3 | −17.5 | −16.8 | 15 309 540* | 17 706 | −2 356 461* | −67 248 |
| Dispensing channel | ||||||||
| Retail pharmacy | 288 395 541 (96.4) | −25.3 | −30.5 | −27.8 | 25 368 972* | −1624 | −5 321 098* | −319 210 |
| Mail-order pharmacy | 3 771 155 (1.3) | 2.5 | −3.2 | −0.1 | 299 305* | 812* | 21 738 | −6551* |
| Long-term care pharmacy | 7 022 047 (2.3) | −14.9 | −15.1 | −15 | 554 018* | 1188* | −77 108* | −3471 |
| Payer type | ||||||||
| Cash | 11 805 359 (3.9) | −31.7 | −33.3 | −32.5 | 1 184 798* | −6436* | −203 869* | −5633 |
| Medicaid fee for service | 37 351 184 (12.5) | −21.0 | −25.2 | −22.9 | 3 597 933* | −14 964* | −376 888 | −30 261 |
| Medicare | 617 994 (0.2) | −8.1 | −13.2 | −10.6 | 38 165* | 895* | −14 522* | −748 |
| Third partyb | 249 311 643 (83.3) | −25.0 | −30.3 | −27.5 | 21 415 280* | 20 527 | −4 725 316* | −297 281 |
a
Represents the No. prescriptions dispensed during the period in 2020 minus the No. prescriptions dispensed during the same period in 2019, divided by the No. prescriptions dispensed during the period in 2019. For example, 160 603 406 prescriptions were dispensed to children between April and December 2020, compared with 220 284 613 between April and December 2019. The unadjusted percentage change was (160 603 406 − 220 284 613)/(220 284 613) = −27.1%. The raw Nos. for calculations of percentage changes are included in Supplemental Table 6.
b
Includes commercial payers and Medicaid managed care.
*
P < .05.