Why some disabled adults in Medicaid face large out-of-pocket expenses

Marguerite Burns et al. used Medical Expenditure Panel survey data to examine out-of-pocket health care spending for Medicaid enrollees aged 18-64 with disabilities. They found that the Medicaid program effectively limited out-of-pocket health costs for the majority of community-dwelling enrollees and that most of the spending is concentrated on prescription medications. However, for 10% of these enrollees, annual out-of-pocket spending was $1,200 or higher, which can be a significant cost burden for low-income individuals.