Prescription Drug Costs and Coverage, Public Opinion, Research & Recent Legislation

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Prescription Drug Trends
Trend data for prescription drug coverage, expenditures, and the key factors that contribute to rising prescription spending.

Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit Data Spotlights
These data spotlights examine key aspects of the drug plans available to Medicare beneficiaries each year, including relevant trends since the Medicare drug benefit took effect in 2006.

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Recent Documents: (255 results)

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Copy of Snapshots: Compensation for Workers with & without Access to Health Benefits at Work -- December 2011
This report analyzes the differences in payroll compensation at companies where health benefits are and are not offered. It finds that workers at companies that offer health benefits on average receive more than double the compensation of workers at companies that do. It is part of the online Snapshots: Health Care Costs series, written by Foundation staff.

The HPV Vaccine: Access and Use in the U.S. -- November 2011
The Food and Drug Administration has approved two vaccines against infection by certain strains of human papillomavirus (HPV), the most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States. Initially, the vaccines were recommended only for girls and young women, but in 2011 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention broadened them to include boys and young men. The fact sheet discusses HPV and cancers related to the virus, use of the HPV vaccines for both females and males, and insurance coverage and access to the vaccines.

The Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit - An Updated Fact Sheet -- November 2011
This updated fact sheet includes the latest information and data about the Medicare Drug Benefit, including a breakdown of the standard benefit, enrollment data and an update on additional low-income assistance.

Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Plan Availability in 2012 -- October 2011
This fact sheet contains 2012 state-specific summary data about available Medicare drug benefit options.

Medicare Spending and Financing Fact Sheet -- August 2011
This updated fact sheet provides an overview of spending on the Medicare program and how the program is financed. It includes the latest available data on Medicare financing and incorporates reductions in the rate of growth of Medicare spending attributable to the 2010 health reform law, including an updated estimate showing the law will extend the solvency of the Medicare Part A Hospital Insurance Trust Fund until 2029.

Summary of New Health Reform Law -- April 2011
This summary reflects provisions of the comprehensive health reform legislation, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, signed into law in March 2010, as changed by subsequent legislation.

Snapshots: Health Benefit Offer Rates and Employee Earnings -- November 2010
The analysis examines how health insurance offer rates vary with average employee wages and finds businesses of all sizes with higher wage workers are more likely to offer health benefits than similar firms with lower wage employees.

kaiserEDU.org Tutorial: Economics and Global Health -- November 2010

This kaiserEDU tutorial provides an overview of the basic concepts of health economics in the context of global health.

Medicare Part D Spotlight: Part D Plan Availability in 2011 and Key Changes Since 2006 -- October 2010
This initial analysis examines the private stand-alone Part D drug plans will be available to Medicare beneficiaries in 2011 and provides an early look at key trends in the options, premiums, and other plan characteristics.

KaiserEDU.org Tutorial: Health Reform: An Overview -- October 2010

New kaiserEDU tutorial provides an overview of the health reform law and major provisions on coverage, quality of care, and cost containment.

This report analyzes the differences in payroll compensation at companies where health benefits are and are not offered. It finds that workers at companies that offer health benefits on average receive more than double the compensation of workers at companies that do. It is part of the online Snapshots: Health Care Costs series, written by Foundation staff.

The Food and Drug Administration has approved two vaccines against infection by certain strains of human papillomavirus (HPV), the most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States. Initially, the vaccines were recommended only for girls and young women, but in 2011 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention broadened them to include boys and young men. The fact sheet discusses HPV and cancers related to the virus, use of the HPV vaccines for both females and males, and insurance coverage and access to the vaccines.

This updated fact sheet includes the latest information and data about the Medicare Drug Benefit, including a breakdown of the standard benefit, enrollment data and an update on additional low-income assistance.

This fact sheet contains 2012 state-specific summary data about available Medicare drug benefit options.

This updated fact sheet provides an overview of spending on the Medicare program and how the program is financed. It includes the latest available data on Medicare financing and incorporates reductions in the rate of growth of Medicare spending attributable to the 2010 health reform law, including an updated estimate showing the law will extend the solvency of the Medicare Part A Hospital Insurance Trust Fund until 2029.

This summary reflects provisions of the comprehensive health reform legislation, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, signed into law in March 2010, as changed by subsequent legislation.

The analysis examines how health insurance offer rates vary with average employee wages and finds businesses of all sizes with higher wage workers are more likely to offer health benefits than similar firms with lower wage employees.

This kaiserEDU tutorial provides an overview of the basic concepts of health economics in the context of global health.

This initial analysis examines the private stand-alone Part D drug plans will be available to Medicare beneficiaries in 2011 and provides an early look at key trends in the options, premiums, and other plan characteristics.

New kaiserEDU tutorial provides an overview of the health reform law and major provisions on coverage, quality of care, and cost containment.

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Prescription Drugs

Prescription drugs have grown to become an essential component of health care. For millions of Americans, prescription therapies are necessary to their health and ability to function in society. While prescriptions are a relatively small share of overall health spending (11%), they are a key driver of health spending trends, growing almost twice as fast all other health services in recent years.

Public attention has focused on prescription drugs and on the pharmaceutical industry because of the very rapid growth of drug costs and because a significant portion of the population lacks insurance to cover the costs of the drugs they need. Older Americans, who use a disproportionate share of prescription drugs, are less likely to have coverage than younger people because Medicare generally does not cover outpatient pharmaceutical costs. Higher drug costs are placing a stress in public and private insurance programs, and are an important component of the recent growth in state Medicaid spending. Methods of controlling prescription costs (such formularies, requiring generic rather than brand name drugs, tiered copayments) are being used, and their impact on costs and consumers studied. Many of these prescription issues are being examined as policymakers explore options for expanding Medicare’s coverage to include outpatient drugs.

The Foundation’s work on the topic of prescription drugs cuts across private sector, Medicare, and Medicaid program areas. Basic information about the market for prescription drugs, including data on costs and coverage, is provided in chartbooks and factsheets. Surveys and reports look at the issues surrounding adding a prescription drug benefit to Medicare; recent legislation on this topic is summarized and explained as well. Recent state efforts to modify their Medicaid prescription programs and pharmaceutical assistance programs are discussed in several reports and fact sheets. The issue of drug promotion by drug manufacturers is also analyzed in a series of reports. The Foundation’s web site for in-depth coverage of health policy news (www.kaisernetwork.org) provides an Issue Spotlight on prescription drugs. The Foundation’s State Health Facts Online website (www.statehealthfacts.kff.org) provides state data on prescription use, sales, and average prices.