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This issue brief provides an overview of the Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit plan landscape for 2021, with a focus on stand-alone drug plans. It includes national and state-level data on plan availability, premiums, benefit design, cost sharing, information about premium-free plans for low-income beneficiaries, and information about the national Part D drug plans available in 2021.
This brief examines the income, assets, and home equity of Medicare beneficiaries, overall and by age, race and ethnicity, and gender. Most Medicare beneficiaries live on relatively low incomes and have modest financial resources to draw upon if they need costly care or long-term services and supports.
It depends on the state where you live. Some states require insurance companies to sell Medigap supplement policies to people under age 65, but not all states do.
You can, but generally only under special circumstances that qualify you for a Special Enrollment Period (SEP).
The House of Representatives recently passed a budget reconciliation bill that would appropriate funding for cost-sharing reductions that insurers are required to provide to low-income enrollees in the Affordable Care Act marketplace. This policy watch explains what these cost-sharing reductions are, how they relate to federal spending, and what effect appropriating funding might have on premiums and the uninsured rate.
This data note provides an overview of the role of the Medicare program for people with and at risk for HIV.
The Inflation Reduction Act requires the federal government to negotiate the price of certain high-spending drugs covered by Medicare. This analysis provides context for understanding the potential impact of negotiating prices for a limited number of Medicare-covered drugs by identifying the 10 top-selling Part D drugs in 2021, measuring the share of total Part D drug spending accounted for by top-selling drugs that year, and examining changes in spending and use of these drugs since 2018.
This data note analyzes five national surveys to assess trends in retiree health coverage among people ages 65 and older. These five surveys produce somewhat different estimates of retiree health coverage, but together paint a clear picture: the share of Medicare-age adults with employer- or union-sponsored retiree health coverage has been shrinking and appears to be on the way to extinction.
The Medicare Open Enrollment period runs from October 15 through December 7 each year. During this period, you can make many changes to your Medicare coverage, depending on the coverage you already have. You can change from traditional Medicare to a Medicare Advantage plan (or vice versa).
This policy watch examines the burden of medical debt in North Carolina and the state’s new plan to leverage the Medicaid program to provide debt relief and support access to care for low- and middle-income North Carolinians.
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