Low income

As policymakers consider a range of approaches to providing prescription drug coverage to the Medicare population in today s tight budgetary environment, one proposal that has been put forth by the Bush Administration is that of a Medicare-endorsed prescription drug discount card program. This report describes the range of existing…

Florida's Medicaid Prescription Drug Benefit: A Case StudyA new study summarizes and discusses the state s attempt to reform its Medicaid prescription drug benefit program. Background Paper

This report examines a Medicare-based approach to reducing the ranks of the uninsured that would permit early retirees between the ages of 62 and 65 to purchase coverage under Medicare. The paper begins with an overview of the challenges of insuring the near-elderly and explores the potential effects of a…

A new report presenting year 2000 trends on prescription drug spending, summarizing states options in designing their benefit, and reviewing several ways states are using their flexibility to curb the rate of growth of their Medicaid drug budgets.Background Paper

Medicaid’s Role for Low-Income Medicare BeneficiariesAn overview that identifies low-income Medicare beneficiaries (dual eligibles), how Medicaid can provide care for them, and the challenges to accessing care.Fact Sheet: Medicaid’s Role for Low-Income Medicare Beneficiaries

Medicaid coverage substantially improves access to health care and lessens the financial burden of medical care for low-income seniors, but the program currently reaches only half of all poor Medicare beneficiaries. This report presents findings of focus groups with low-income seniors in an effort to understand barriers to enrollment for…

Medicaid: Purchasing Prescription DrugsA policy brief explaining how Medicaid purchases outpatient drugs and outlining the policy tools available to states to limit the rate of growth in spending on prescription drugs. Policy Brief (28 pages)

A report on Indiana, Massachusetts, Montana, North Carolina, Oregon, and Pennsylvania prescription drug programs illustrating the issues and challenges for delivering drugs via Medicaid, managed care, and pharmaceutical assistance programs.Report

The Medicare Chartbook includes data and background information critical to understanding the Medicare program and the challenges it faces in keeping up with the rising costs of health care and in ensuring the program s future financial security.

This fact sheet provides an overview of the Medicaid program’s increasing reliance on managed care to deliver services. Fact Sheet