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This brief provides an overview of the Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit, including current data on plan availability, enrollment, and spending and financing, and highlights changes made under the Inflation Reduction Act.
This Health Policy 101 chapter explores Medicare, a federal health insurance program covering more than 68 million people, established in 1965 for people age 65 or older and later expanded to cover people under age 65 with long-term disabilities. In addition to detailing Medicare eligibility, coverage, and spending, the chapter examines the increased role of private plans in providing benefits and the financing challenges posed by increasing health care costs and an aging population.
This Health Policy 101 chapter explores employer-sponsored health insurance (ESI), the primary health coverage source for non-elderly residents in the U.S. In addition to detailing ESI requirements and incentives, structure, availability, and costs, the chapter examines ongoing challenges related to affordability and access to care for those with ESI coverage.
The State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) offers free counseling to help millions of Medicare beneficiaries make decisions about coverage. However, federal funding has been modest over the last decade, and federal administration of the program appears to be in transition.
This brief provides information about Medicare Advantage plans in 2025, including premiums, out-of-pocket limits, supplemental benefits, and prior authorization, as well as trends over time.
This policy watch discusses a recent policy change by the Department of Health and Human Services that bars several groups of immigrants from accessing an updated list of "federal public benefits".
This policy watch summarizes recent proposed actions by states related to state-funded health coverage for immigrants and trends in other legislation enacted during the 2025 session that have implications for immigrants.
The Medicare Part D program provides an outpatient prescription drug benefit to more than 50 million older adults and people with long-term disabilities in Medicare who enroll in private plans, including stand-alone prescription drug plans (PDPs) to supplement traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage prescription drug plans (MA-PDs) that include drug coverage and other Medicare-covered benefits. This brief analyzes Medicare Part D enrollment and costs in 2025 and trends over time, based on data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
The Trump administration is proposing a reorganization and staffing cuts at HHS that create uncertainty about the potential effects on older adults, who receive services authorized under the Older Americans Act. This brief provides an overview of programs and services provided under the Older Americans Act, the role played by the Administration for Community Living in administering these programs, and trends in program funding and service utilization by older adults.
This brief considers how default enrollment into Medicare Advantage might work, potential challenges with this approach, and implications for beneficiaries, insurers, providers, agents and brokers, and the federal budget.
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