This Medicare Part D data spotlight focuses on the use of specialty tiers for high-cost and injectible drugs in Medicare Prescription Drug Plans in 2008. It finds that the number of plans with specialty tiers has nearly doubled since 2006. It also looks at the drugs assigned to specialty tiers, the beneficiary cost sharing structure, and policy implications such higher out-of-pocket expenses and selection issues among beneficiaries who evaluate plans based on cost sharing.

This spotlight is one in a series analyzing key aspects of the Medicare Part D drug plans that will be available to beneficiaries in 2008. The analysis was conducted jointly by Jack Hoadley of Georgetown University, Elizabeth Hargrave and Katie Merrell of NORC at the University of Chicago, and Juliette Cubanski of the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Data Spotlight (.pdf)

To better understand changes in the private plans providing drug coverage to Medicare beneficiaries under the program’s Part D benefit, the Kaiser Family Foundation is issuing a series of data spotlights analyzing key elements of Medicare’s private drug plans. Each spotlight will focus on a key aspect of the drug plans that will be available to Medicare beneficiaries in 2008 and examine relevant trends since the Medicare drug benefit took effect in 2006.

>>More Recent Medicare Part D Data Spotlights Now Available

These spotlights were prepared by a team of researchers at Georgetown University, NORC and the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Medicare Prescription Drug Plans in 2008 And Key Changes Since 2006: Summary Of Findings

Medicare Part D 2008 Data Spotlight: Ten Most Common Brand-Name Drugs

Medicare Part D 2008 Data Spotlight: Low-Income Subsidy Plan Availability

Medicare Part D 2008 Data Spotlight: Utilization Management

Medicare Part D 2008 Data Spotlight: Formularies

Medicare Part D 2008 Data Spotlight: Specialty Tiers

Medicare Part D 2008 Data Spotlight: Benefit Design

Medicare Part D 2008 Data Spotlight: Premiums

Medicare Part D 2008 Data Spotlight: The Coverage Gap

Appendix with Methodology

This compendium summarizes about a dozen federal legislative initiatives introduced in the 110th Congress to address racial and ethnic disparities in health and health care.

Although the 110th Congress’s session is half complete, the number of bills introduced that include some attention to “health disparities” is about the same as introduced in the entire 109th Congress. While a number of bills introduced this year may have an impact on health disparities and/or affect minority health, the goal of this document is to highlight legislation that specifically addresses racial and ethnic health disparities. Bills that did not focus on disparities were not included in this document.

Compendium (.pdf)

These toplines present detailed survey results from a November 2007 survey conducted jointly by NPR, the Kaiser Family Foundation, and the Harvard School of Public Health on the public’s views of over-the-counter children’s cold and cough medications in the wake of recent concerns regarding their safety and effectiveness.

A nationally representative sample of 1,522 adults, including an oversample of parents with young children, participated in telephone interviews from Nov. 15-25. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 3 percentage points for the full sample, and plus or minus 5 percentage points for parents with young children.

This survey is part of a series of projects about health-related issues by NPR, the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, and the Harvard School of Public Health. Representatives of the three organizations worked together to develop the survey questionnaire and to analyze the results, with NPR maintaining editorial control over its broadcasts on the surveys.

Toplines (.pdf)

This summary and chartpack provides an overview of the results of a November 2007 survey conducted jointly by NPR, the Kaiser Family Foundation, and the Harvard School of Public Health on the public’s views of over-the-counter children’s cold and cough medications in the wake of recent concerns regarding their safety and effectiveness.

A nationally representative sample of 1,522 adults, including an oversample of parents with young children, participated in telephone interviews from Nov. 15-25. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 3 percentage points for the full sample, and plus or minus 5 percentage points for parents with young children.

This survey is part of a series of projects about health-related issues by NPR, the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, and the Harvard School of Public Health. Representatives of the three organizations worked together to develop the survey questionnaire and to analyze the results, with NPR maintaining editorial control over its broadcasts on the surveys.

Summary and Chartpack (.pdf)

This survey, conducted jointly by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Pew Global Attitudes Project, examines how people around the world perceive and prioritize health in their countries and gauge the efforts of donor nations. People in 47 countries were polled on a series of health questions, giving them an opportunity to share their views on health as a priority for their government and in their own lives.

Specifically, the survey looks at what people consider to be the top problem facing their country, such as HIV/AIDS, crime, pollution and political corruption. It also examines the top public health priorities in low and middle income countries, such as preventing and treating HIV, fighting hunger and malnutrition, and accessing health care.

An additional question about foreign aid assesses whether people think that wealthier countries are doing enough to help poorer nations with problems such as economic development, reducing poverty, and improving health.

The survey was discussed at an event sponsored by the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C., as part of their Smart Power Speaker Series.

Survey (.pdf)

Survey News Release

This survey from NPR, the Kaiser Family Foundation, and the Harvard School of Public Health examines the public’s views of over-the-counter children’s cold and cough medications in the wake of recent concerns regarding their safety and effectiveness. The poll was conducted after an FDA advisory panel recommended that children under the age of six not be given these medicines.

Reflecting the lack of formal consensus on the issue among government and outside experts, the survey finds that many parents are uncertain about whether to use the medicines for their young children in the future and are talking about the issue with other parents, pediatricians, and pharmacists.

Other issues addressed in the poll include the reasons why parents report using over-the-counter cold and cough medicines for their kids; parents’ views about the effectiveness of these drugs; whether pharmaceutical companies have implemented adequate testing procedures for these medications; and how opinions about drug safety have changed over the past several years. NPR is reporting on the poll’s findings in its news coverage.

A nationally representative sample of 1,522 adults, including an oversample of parents with young children, participated in telephone interviews from Nov. 15-25. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 3 percentage points for the full sample, and plus or minus 5 percentage points for parents with young children.

This survey is part of a series of projects about health-related issues by NPR, the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, and the Harvard School of Public Health. Representatives of the three organizations worked together to develop the survey questionnaire and to analyze the results, with NPR maintaining editorial control over its broadcasts on the surveys.

Summary and Chartpack

Toplines

To mark the 20th anniversary of the passage of landmark federal legislation to improve the quality of nursing home care, the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987 (known as OBRA 87), this video examines the history surrounding the law. The video includes a look at the state of nursing home care before the law, an overview of the legislative process that brought about the law, and recent developments in nursing home quality. The video features historical clips and new interviews of key individuals from government, the nursing home industry, and consumer advocates who were instrumental in the historical developments related to nursing home reform.

The Nursing Home Reform Law, part of the Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1987 (OBRA ’87), was passed twenty years ago with hopes of improving the quality of nursing homes throughout the United States. Today, however, there are still concerns about the progress that has been achieved since this legislation and the overall quality of long-term care.

This chartpack presents the key findings from the survey Update on the Public’s Views of Nursing Homes and Long-Term Care Services. The survey evaluates the public’s opinion of the current state of long-term care in the United States. Specifically, it assesses personal experiences, perceptions of quality and staffing, and opinions of government regulation related to nursing homes and long-term care services.

The survey was designed and analyzed by researchers at the Kaiser Family Foundation. Telephone interviews were conducted from October 1-10, 2007, among a nationally representative sample of 1,032 adults ages 18 and older. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 4 percentage points.

The survey was released at a December 7, 2007 briefing sponsored by the Alliance for Health Reform and the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Chartpack

New Resources and Briefing Explore Nursing Home Reform Twenty Years After Passage of Landmark Law

Nursing Home Care Quality: Twenty Years After the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987

To mark the 20th anniversary of the passage of landmark federal legislation to improve the quality of nursing home care, the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987 (known as OBRA ’87), this report explains the key provisions of OBRA ’87 related to nursing home care and examines the progress and problems in quality assurance in nursing homes over the past twenty years.

Report (.pdf)