Oversight and Enforcement of Medicare Part D Plan Requirements: Federal Role and Responsibilities

This Issue Brief was commissioned by the Kaiser Family Foundation to gain insights into legal advocates’ views of how federal authorities enforce compliance with requirements of the new Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit.

The report was prepared by Toby Edelman of the Center for Medicare Advocacy, Inc. The views expressed in this report are those of the author and not necessarily those of the foundation.

Issue Brief (.pdf)

These toplines provide the complete survey questions and findings from the updated Kaiser Family Foundation/U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality survey conducted in August 2006. The survey captures the public’s views and knowledge of medical errors as well as their experiences with improving the quality of their care.

Toplines (.pdf)

Consumers’ Views of Patient Safety and Quality Information

The Kaiser Family Foundation and the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality released an updated survey capturing the public’s views and knowledge of medical errors and their experiences with improving the quality of their care.

Since the Institute of Medicine issued a landmark study on medical errors in hospitals seven years ago, hospitals, doctors, health plans and purchasers have made many efforts to improve the quality and coordination of health care. The new survey provides updated responses to key questions about these issues asked in 2000, 2002 and 2004 surveys.

The nationally representative telephone survey of 1,216 adults was conducted August 3-8, 2006. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 3 percentage points. Foundation staff created and analyzed the survey in collaboration with experts at the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

Topline

Summary and Chartpack

These charts highlight data from the updated Kaiser Family Foundation/U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality survey conducted in August 2006. The survey captures the public’s views and knowledge of medical errors and their experiences with improving the quality of their care.

Chartpack (.pdf)

These toplines provide the results of a 2006 national survey of physicians on their views and experiences related to the new Medicare drug benefit.

Topline (.pdf)

This document highlights key data from separate surveys of pharmacists and physicians related to the new Medicare drug benefit.

Chartpack (.pdf)

Key Facts: States Most Affected by Hurricane Katrina

A side-by-side comparison of key demographics and health coverage statistics of the states most affected by Hurricane Katrina.

Fact Sheet (.pdf)

These toplines provide the results of a 2006 national survey of pharmacists on their views and experiences related to the new Medicare drug benefit.

Topline (.pdf)

Two national surveys conducted and analyzed by the Kaiser Family Foundation show that substantial majorities of pharmacists and physicians believe that the prescription drug law is helping people on Medicare save money on their medications. At the same time, a majority in both professions report that Medicare beneficiaries who they see are encountering problems in getting their medications, sometimes with serious consequences.

The questions about Medicare drug plans were part of surveys designed and analyzed by the Foundation to assess the views and experiences of pharmacists and doctors on the new drug benefit and other topics. Portions of the surveys related to other topics will be released later this year.

The two surveys were conducted between April and July, during the first year of Medicare’s new drug benefit. Nationally representative samples of 802 pharmacists and 834 doctors were surveyed. Each survey has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus three percentage points.

News Release

Summary/Chartpack: National Survey of Pharmacists and National Survey of Physicians, Findings on Medicare Part D

Toplines: National Survey of Pharmacists, Findings on Medicare Part D

Toplines: National Survey of Physicians, Findings on Medicare Part D

I’d like you to think about the way the problem of AIDS is affecting this country today. Do you think the problem of AIDS is about the same as it has been, that the country is making progress in this area, or that the country is losing ground?

Note: Asked of One-Half of Respondents:

14%  About the same

52   Country making progress

27   Country losing ground

7      Don’t know/Refused

Survey by Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, Washington Post, Harvard University.  Methodology: Fieldwork conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates, September 17-October 19, 1997 and based on telephone interviews with a national adult sample of 1,205.