Medicare Part D 2010 Data Spotlight: Benefit Design and Cost Sharing November 30, 2009 Report The Medicare Modernization Act established a defined standard drug benefit for Part D stand-alone Prescription Drug Plans (PDPs) and Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug (MA-PD) plans, while giving plans flexibility to offer alternative benefit designs. Only about one in 10 PDPs offer the standard benefit in 2010. Plan sponsors can offer…
Explaining Health Care Reform: How Do Health Care Costs Vary By Region? November 30, 2009 Issue Brief Although regional variations in health spending have been studied for decades, there is renewed focus on this issue because of the role of health care costs in health care reform and the potential source of funds if addressing cost variations can yield savings. This explainer examines what is known about…
Medicare Part D 2010 Data Spotlight: Premiums November 30, 2009 Report Medicare Part D helps cover the cost of outpatient prescription drugs for 27 million beneficiaries enrolled in private stand-alone prescription drug plans (PDPs) and Medicare Advantage prescription drug (MA-PD) plans. The majority of Part D enrollees pay a monthly premium for Medicare drug coverage. This data spotlight examines premiums for…
Kaiser Health Tracking Poll — December 2009 November 30, 2009 Poll Finding The December Kaiser Health Tracking Poll finds a dip on several measures of public opinion on health care reform. The number of Americans who say they personally will be better off if reform passes fell to 35 percent in December, down from 42 percent last month. Meanwhile, 27 percent say…
Medicare Part D 2010 Data Spotlight: A Comparison of PDPs Offering Basic and Enhanced Benefits November 30, 2009 Report This Part D Data Spotlight examines key differences between basic and enhanced Medicare stand-alone prescription drug plans (PDPs), including monthly premiums, cost sharing, and gap coverage. It also examines plan names to assess whether they convey meaningful differences between basic and enhanced PDPs. Companies that sponsor Medicare Part D prescription…
Medicare Savings in Perspective: A Comparison of 2009 Health Reform Legislation and Other Laws in the Last 15 Years November 29, 2009 Issue Brief Although Medicare is not the main focus of current health reform legislation, the bill recently passed by the House—H.R. 3962, America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009—and the bill before the Senate—H.R. 3590, Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act—include a number of provisions that would affect Medicare program expenditures. This…
Getting the Most Bang for Our Health Reform Buck: Enrolling and Retaining Everyone Who’s Eligible November 29, 2009 Event As Congress looks for ways to increase access to health care, existing programs such as Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program are often overlooked. Yet enrolling those who are eligible for such programs is one of the easiest ways to expand coverage. This briefing, co-sponsored by Alliance for Health…
Coverage of Low-Income Children: Key Issues to Consider in Health Reform November 29, 2009 Issue Brief A key element of health reform will be meeting the needs of low-income children. Overall, a major goal of proposals is to expand coverage by building on Medicaid, providing subsidies to low- and moderate-income individuals to buy coverage through new health insurance exchanges, and requiring individuals to obtain coverage. Current…
Workplace Wellness Programs, Healthy Behaviors and Health Reform November 29, 2009 Event Many large employers offer financial incentives to their employees to exercise regularly, improve their diets, lose weight and quit smoking. Health reform proposals would write some of these incentives into law. But some patient advocates say that, depending on how the incentives are structured, they can make coverage more expensive…
Health Care In New Orleans: Progress and Remaining Challenges November 29, 2009 Event On Dec. 3, 2009, Diane Rowland, the Foundation Executive Vice President and Executive Director of the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, delivered this testimony on the post-Katrina recovery efforts to restore health care to the New Orleans area before the U.S.House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Testimony…