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This slideshow explains key elements of the Medicare program, which now provides health coverage to 55 million people — including 46 million people age 65 and older and another 9 million younger adults with permanent disabilities.
As state and federal policymakers move to develop and test integrated care models for people dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid, two new Kaiser Family Foundation articles in the June 2012 issue of Health Affairs highlight the diverse needs and challenges facing these 9 million beneficiaries, describe their current care arrangements, and raise issues to consider for proposed reforms aimed at better coordinating their care and reducing health care spending. The first highlights the diversity…
This brief summarizes 15 states' preliminary proposals to better coordinate care for people who are in both the Medicare and Medicaid programs. The design contracts, funded by the federal Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI), are an outgrowth of new efforts under the health reform law to develop service delivery and payment models that integrate care for the nation’s nearly 9 million "dual eligibles," whose medical needs and health care costs typically exceed those…
This document summarizes the final regulations to implement the new Medicare prescription drug benefit. The regulations were published by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) as a final rule in the Jan. 28 Federal Register. It provides an overview that allows interested parties to obtain information about specific provisions of the law. The summary was prepared by Health Policy Alternatives Inc. on behalf of the Kaiser Family Foundation. Issue Brief (.pdf)
Medicare Drug Discount Cards: A Work In Progress This report examines the early experience with the Medicare-Approved Drug Discount Card Program, prices offered by card sponsors, and potential savings for enrollees. The report presents information about approved discount card programs, including sponsors, enrollment fees, and drugs covered, as well as beneficiary education and outreach efforts by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The pricing analysis shows that discount cards can deliver savings off of…
Based on interviews with senior executives at 14 large firms, the issue brief finds that insurers anticipate continuing to offer Medicare Advantage plans in 2012, in part because of a Medicare demonstration project that will award bonus payments to plans based on their quality standards. A companion issue brief examines trends in Medicare Advantage enrollment in 2011. The analysis was conducted by researchers at Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. and the Kaiser Family Foundation. Issue Brief…
Low-income assistance is a key feature of the Medicare prescription drug proposals passed by the House (H.R. 1) and the Senate (S.1). The attached tables present national and state-level data on the number of low-income elderly and disabled Medicare beneficiaries who may be eligible for additional assistance, based on the income eligibility thresholds specified in the House and Senate proposals (135%, 150%, and 160% of poverty). Report
The brief examines the potential impact of Aduhelm, a newly approved drug for Alzheimer's disease, on state and federal Medicaid costs and looks at potential policy actions that could limit Medicaid’s potential costs.
This issue paper updates the July 1999 report and provides a general overview of federal Medicaid eligibility policy for the low-income disabled population. This paper focuses on four broad groups of individuals with disabilities: children under 18; adults under 65 who are not living in institutions; adults under 65 who are living in institutions; and adults under 65 who are also eligible for Medicare. In addition, this paper includes the new eligibility options offered under…
Proposed changes in eligibility rules in both SNAP and Medicaid may jeopardize some people’s access to both adequate food and health care if various provisions of the bill take effect, in part because there is a significant overlap in eligibility requirements for Medicaid and SNAP across states. Four in 10 (40%) Medicaid enrollees receive SNAP benefits.
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