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The New Medicare Rx Benefit: Challenges for Maintaining Access to Prescription Drugs With the launch of the new Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit less than 18 months away, and growing interest in beneficiaries’ access to medications in the future, the Kaiser Family Foundation is pleased to release two new publications that examine issues concerning…
The New Medicare Drug Benefit: Potential Effects of Pharmacy Management Tools on Access to Medications This report describes the pharmacy benefit management tools that will be available to private plans administering the new Medicare drug benefit, including formularies, the definition of categories and classes, and cost sharing requirements.
Issues Surrounding the “Clawback” or State Contributions Towards Medicare Drug Coverage: A Conference Call Discussion As part of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act (MMA) of 2003 signed into law last year, Congress included a financing provision that requires a monthly payment from each state to the Medicare program beginning in January 2006.
This issue paper describes the origins of the clawback, the formula by which each state’s clawback amount is calculated, and the clawback’s implications for states and for low-income Medicare beneficiaries. Issue Paper (.
Additional Help with Prescription Drug Costs For Low-Income People on Medicare (For 2007 Benefits and Cost-Sharing) As of 2007, Medicare helps pay for outpatient prescription drugs. Medicare provides additional help with drug costs to beneficiaries who qualify based on low incomes and limited resources.
As the first phase of the new Medicare prescription drug law takes effect, the Kaiser Family Foundation commissioned focus groups conducted by Bill McInturff of Public Opinion Strategies and Geoff Garin of Peter D. Hart Research Associates in consultation with Foundation staff.
Preparing for the Medicare Drug Discount Card Rollout A Conference Call Discussion With Medicare beneficiaries eligible to subscribe to a discount drug card as of May 3 and use them as of June 1, there is little time to clear up any confusion or answer outstanding questions about the program.
- Issue Paper This Issue Paper describes the discount card and low-income assistance programs and discusses their implications for low-income Medicare beneficiaries and state Medicaid programs. Issue Paper (.
Dual Eligibles: Medicaid's Role in Filling Medicare's Gaps - Issue Brief This paper presents a profile of dual eligible beneficiaries (those qualifying for both Medicare and Medicaid), describes their health care expenditures, and analyzes the distribution of spending on the population. Issue Paper (.
This set of tables, prepared by the Urban Institue for the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, presents the most current state by state data on Medicaid enrollment and expenditures for dual eligibles. Full Set of Tables (.
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