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The Medicare Part D program provides an outpatient prescription drug benefit to 56 million older adults and people with long-term disabilities in Medicare who enroll in private plans. This brief analyzes Medicare Part D enrollment, premiums, and cost sharing in 2026 and trends over time, based on data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
With Medicare's 2015 open enrollment set to begin Oct. 15, two new analyses from the Kaiser Family Foundation find modest change in the total number of private Medicare Advantage plans available for 2015, and the fewest Part D prescription drug plans nationwide since the start of the drug benefit in 2006. As in previous years, changes in Medicare Advantage and Part D plan availability, premiums, cost-sharing and benefits could require some beneficiaries to find alternative…
Federal payments to Medicare Advantage plans, and adjustments for health status, have come under increased scrutiny. This brief answers key questions about coding intensity, recent steps taken by CMS, the effects on beneficiaries, and other proposals to improve payment accuracy.
More than half (55%) of eligible Medicare beneficiaries are enrolled in Medicare Advantage in 2026. To better understand trends in the growth of the Medicare Advantage program, this brief provides current information about enrollment, including by plan type and firm
Now Available: 2011 Medicare Advantage Spotlight: Plan Availability and Premiums The Kaiser Family Foundation has issued a series of data spotlight looking at the 2010 Medicare Advantage plan options and trends around the Medicare Advantage plan. These spotlights were prepared by a team of researchers at Mathematica Policy Research Inc. and the Kaiser Family Foundation. Plan Enrollment Patterns and Trends Benefits and Cost Sharing Plan Availability and Premiums
An estimated 200,000 Medicare beneficiaries were displaced by Hurricane Katrina. Medicare played a key role in meeting the health care needs of the elderly and disabled beneficiaries who were displaced by the hurricane. Many of these beneficiaries face new challenges as a direct result of the hurricane. This issue brief identifies issues and challenges for individuals on Medicare affected by the hurricane and offers options for addressing these problems during the transition period. This issue…
This issue brief notes that more counties lack Medicare Advantage plans than are at risk of not having an Affordable Care Act marketplace insurer next year. It examines the overlap between the counties without Medicare Advantage or marketplace insurers and assesses some of the potential reasons why such counties have trouble attracting insurers.
This report examines similarities and differences in federal consumer protection standards for Medicare Advantage (MA) plans, Qualified Health Plans (QHPs), and Medicaid Managed Care Organizations (MCOs). It focuses on rules established at the federal level, though some states have chosen to go above the federal minimums and impose additional requirements for QHPs and Medicaid MCOs.
This issue brief provides an overview of Medicare, the health insurance program for people ages 65 and over and younger people with long-term disabilities. The brief review the characteristics of people on Medicare, what Medicare covers, benefit gaps and supplemental coverage, beneficiaries' out-of-pocket health care spending, program spending and financing, payment and delivery system reform, and issues for the future of Medicare.
NEW: Foundation brief looks at implications of 2011 quality ratings for Medicare Advantage plans. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) rates the relative quality of the private plans that are offered to Medicare beneficiaries through the Medicare Advantage program as a way of aiding beneficiaries who are considering enrolling in such a private plan. CMS rates Medicare Advantage plans on a one to five-star scale, with five stars representing the highest quality. This…
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