July 6, 2010 12:41PM 

# Medicare Part D May Set a Record for Crowd-Out 

By [Michael F. Cannon](https://www.cato.org/people/michael-f-cannon) 

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According to a new [study](http://papers.nber.org/papers/w16155) by economists Gary V. Engelhardt and Jonathan Gruber, 80 percent of enrollment in [Medicare Part D](https://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=3671), and 80 percent of the dollars spent by Part D, merely crowd out private prescription drug coverage and spending.

Put differently, Medicare Part D extends prescription drug coverage to one senior for the price of five.

##### Related Tags 

[General](https://www.cato.org/general), [Health Care](https://www.cato.org/health-care) 

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