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  • Medicare Prescription Drug Plans in 2009 and Key Changes Since 2006: Summary of Findings

    Issue Brief

    Since 2006, Medicare beneficiaries have had access to prescription drug coverage offered by private plans, either stand-alone prescription drug plans (PDPs) or Medicare Advantage prescription drug plans (MA-PD plans). Today, more than 26 million Medicare beneficiaries are enrolled in Medicare drug plans, including 17.5 million in stand-alone prescription drug plans and 9 million in Medicare Advantage drug plans. This report summarizes findings from a series of Medicare Part D 2009 Data Spotlights documenting changes in…

  • Report Examines Trends in the Medicare Part D Plan Marketplace

    News Release

    A new comprehensive Kaiser Family Foundation report analyzes key trends that have shaped the Medicare Part D marketplace since the program launched nine years ago, providing a detailed assessment of changes in plan availability, enrollment, premiums and cost sharing in both private stand-alone drug plans, and Medicare Advantage drug plans.

  • New England Journal of Medicine: Medicare Advantage Checkup

    Perspective

    In this November 2018 New England Journal of Medicine article, KFF's Tricia Neuman and Gretchen Jacobson examine the extent to which Medicare Advantage plans are achieving goals with respect to benefits, out-of-pocket costs, plan choice, federal spending and quality.

  • Charges for Emails with Doctors and other Healthcare Providers

    Issue Brief

    Patient-provider email messaging accelerated early in the COVID-19 pandemic as more patients sought medical care remotely, and the addition of billing codes for digital health services and subsequent changes in insurers’ payment policies have enabled providers to bill insurers and patients for messaging. This analysis examines the typical cost of patient-provider email messaging in 2020 and 2021 using private health insurance claims data. The typical cost for an email messaging claim was $39 in 2021,…

  • What resources are available for privately insured patients who get surprise balance bills?

    Issue Brief

    Most patients do not know about the new surprise billing protections and likely also do not know of resources available to seek recourse for incorrect medical bills. This brief provides resources to privately insured patients who receive surprise balance bills and also summarizes relevant policies and how they apply to balance billing.

  • Medical Debt: The Canary in the Coal Mine for Health Care Affordability

    Perspective

    With Vice President Harris promising to address medical debt as part of her economic plan, KFF Executive Vice President for Health Policy Larry Levitt explores why it is a symptom of the broader problem of affordable health care and reviews recent efforts to address it in this JAMA Health Forum post.

  • Copay Adjustment Programs: What Are They and What Do They Mean for Consumers?

    Issue Brief

    Drug makers sometimes offer copay coupons to lower consumers’ out-of-pocket costs for their brand-name prescriptions, though how private health plans treat those coupons can substantially limit their value to consumers. This issue brief provides an overview of such copay adjustment programs, stakeholder arguments for and against their use, their prevalence, and federal and state efforts to address them.

  • A Backlash Against Health Insurers, Redux

    Perspective

    In this JAMA Health Forum post, Executive Vice President Larry Levitt recalls the mid-1990s’ public backlash against Health Maintenance Organizations (commonly known as HMOs) – all of which preceded the recent outpouring of health insurance concerns – as well as how consumer protections against coverage restrictions have evolved and fallen short.