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  • What Could New Anti-Obesity Drugs Mean for Medicare?

    Policy Watch

    In this piece, we discuss Medicare coverage of obesity treatments, the potential cost implications if Medicare covers anti-obesity drugs, and how the Inflation Reduction Act could potentially address these cost concerns.

  • Medicare Advantage 2022 Spotlight: First Look

    Issue Brief

    For 2022, the average Medicare beneficiary has access to 39 Medicare Advantage plans, the largest number of options available in the last decade, and can choose from plans offered by nine firms. Among the majority of Medicare Advantage plans that cover prescription drugs, 59 percent will charge no premium in addition to the monthly Medicare Part B premium. As in previous years, the vast majority of Medicare Advantage plans will offer supplemental fitness, dental, vision, and hearing benefits. In addition, virtually all will also offer telehealth benefits in 2022.

  • Medicare 101

    Feature

    This Health Policy 101 chapter explores Medicare, a federal health insurance program covering more than 68 million people, established in 1965 for people age 65 or older and later expanded to cover people under age 65 with long-term disabilities. In addition to detailing Medicare eligibility, coverage, and spending, the chapter examines the increased role of private plans in providing benefits and the financing challenges posed by increasing health care costs and an aging population.

  • A New Use for Wegovy Opens the Door to Medicare Coverage for Millions of People with Obesity

    Issue Brief

    The FDA recently approved a new use for Wegovy, the blockbuster anti-obesity drug, to reduce the risk of heart attacks and stroke in people with cardiovascular disease who are overweight or obese - a decision that opens the door to Medicare coverage of Wegovy, which is prohibited by law from covering drugs used for obesity. This brief analyses how many Medicare beneficiaries could be eligible for the new use of Wegovy and the potential impact on Medicare spending.

  • Medicare Spending on Ozempic and Other GLP-1s Is Skyrocketing

    Policy Watch

    This policy watch analyzes the latest data on Medicare Part D spending on GLP-1 drugs, initially approved to treat diabetes but in high demand as treatments for obesity, and shows how spending on these drugs has increased substantially in recent years.

  • FAQs about the Inflation Reduction Act’s Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program

    Issue Brief

    The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced the drugs selected for the second round of negotiation for the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program, which was established by the Inflation Reduction Act. These FAQs address several questions related to Medicare’s drug price negotiation program and CMS's implementation of the program, with a focus on the details that apply for 2027, the second year that negotiated prices will be available under the program.

  • Changes to Medicare Part D in 2024 and 2025 Under the Inflation Reduction Act and How Enrollees Will Benefit

    Issue Brief

    The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 includes several provisions to lower prescription drug costs for people with Medicare and reduce drug spending by the federal government, including a number of changes to the Medicare Part D drug benefit. This brief provides an overview of the Part D benefit design and Part D enrollee cost-sharing requirements in 2023 and changes coming in 2024 and 2025.