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  • Medicare Part D Update: Lessons Learned and Unfinished Business

    Report

    Enacted in 2003, Medicare’s Part D prescription drug benefit reflected an unprecedented and controversial new approach for Medicare, relying exclusively on private plans to provide health coverage and including an unusual gap in coverage. This analysis by Kaiser researchers examines in detail how the new model has worked since its launch almost four years ago. Published as an article in today’s New England Journal of Medicine, the analysis by Kaiser vice president Patricia Neuman and…

  • Money Follows the Person: An Early Implementation Snapshot

    Issue Brief

    This issue brief examines the early successes and challenges of the Money Follows the Person Demonstration (MFP), a Medicaid initiative enacted into law in 2006 that gives states enhanced federal support to balance their Medicaid long-term care programs by providing more services in the community and fewer in institutional settings. A 2008 Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured survey of 29 states receiving MFP grants turned up several key findings, including that several hundred…

  • Rethinking Medicaid’s Financing Role for Medicare Enrollees

    Issue Brief

    This issue brief examines coverage of the nearly 9 million "dual eligible" beneficiaries, the low-income elderly and persons with disabilities who are enrolled in both Medicare and Medicaid. It explores the national and state impacts of shifting the financing of selected services for dual eligibles from Medicaid to Medicare, including having the federal government pick up the full cost of Medicare premiums, cost-sharing and gaps in Medicare-covered services and long-term care services for this population.…

  • Reports Analyze Cost and Coverage of People Eligible for Both Medicaid and Medicare and Options for Reforming Financing of Their Care

    Issue Brief

    These issue briefs examine coverage of the nearly 9 million "dual eligibles," the low-income elderly and persons with disabilities who are enrolled in both Medicare and Medicaid. The reports explore the national and state impacts of shifting the financing of selected services for dual eligibles from Medicaid to Medicare, and provide state-level Medicaid spending and enrollment data related to this population. The policy options studied could collectively provide tens of billions of dollars in annual…

  • Primers on Key Health Care Topics and Programs

    Issue Brief

    The Kaiser Family Foundation maintains a number of primers providing overviews of key health care programs and issues. Written by Foundation staff, each primer provides key data and information that helps illustrate the topic and its relevance for the nation's health care system. Medicaid: A Primer Medicare: A Primer The Uninsured: A Primer Health Care Costs: A Primer How Private Health Coverage Works: A Primer Mental Health Financing in the United States: A Primer The…

  • Medicare Part D 2009 Data Spotlight: Low-Income Subsidy Plan Availability

    Issue Brief

    This Medicare Part D Data Spotlight focuses on the availability of drug plans for beneficiaries receiving the Part D low-income subsidy in 2009 and changes since 2006. For 2009, fewer than one in five plans qualify for automatic or facilitated enrollment of low-income subsidy beneficiaries, the lowest share since the inception of the Part D benefit. These plans have monthly premiums below a benchmark amount calculated for each region, enabling low-income subsidy beneficiaries to enroll…

  • Benefit improvements for low-income Medicare beneficiaries

    Report

    Benefit Improvements for Low-Income Medicare Beneficiaries The Kaiser Family Foundation has prepared a summary showing how the House-passed Children’s Health and Medicare Protection (CHAMP) Act legislation would change current law regarding assistance for low-income Medicare beneficiaries. The summary describes proposed changes to current programs that provide assistance to low-income Medicare beneficiaries, including the Medicare Savings Program and the Medicare Part D Low-Income Subsidy (LIS) Program. The summary reviews how the CHAMP Act would modify each…

  • The Impact of Part D on Dual Eligibles Who Spend-Down to Medicaid

    Issue Brief

    Individuals with incomes exceeding thresholds for regular Medicaid eligibility may qualify under state medically needy programs by spending down excess income on healthcare services. For the vulnerable population of Medicare beneficiaries who spend down to Medicaid, the Part D transition has added additional complexities that may result in disruptions in pharmacy coverage and add financial burdens. This paper explores the inter-relationship of Medicare prescription drug coverage and Medicaid spend-down for the medically needy. It describes…