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This Medicare Part D data spotlight examines the coverage gap, or "doughnut hole," in Medicare drug plans available in 2009. While in the gap in coverage, Part D enrollees (other than those receiving low-income subsidies) are required to pay 100 percent of total drug costs until they reach the catastrophic coverage level. In 2009, nearly all Part D plans have a coverage gap, though one in four plans offer limited coverage in the gap --…
Key Implementation Dates for the Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit This timeline presents important dates and deadlines of key implementation activities related to the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA). It runs from the beginning of 2005 through the end of 2006, the first year of the new Medicare drug benefit. Some of these dates are defined in the MMA statute, while others are from the final rule issued by the Centers…
This issue brief describes the impact of H.R.1's 10-year delay in implementing provisions in two Medicaid eligibility rules that would have reduced red tape. The delayed rules are projected to decrease federal spending and future Medicaid and CHIP enrollment and increase coverage loss.
This brief focuses on the stand-alone Medicare Part D prescription drug plan marketplace and its somewhat uncertain future, in light of recent trends in plan availability and the potential for another year of premium increases in 2026, in part depending on what the Trump administration decides to do with the temporary Part D premium stabilization demonstration. The brief explains why the stability of the PDP market matters, both for people in traditional Medicare who want…
For 2021, the average Medicare beneficiary has access to 33 Medicare Advantage plans, the largest number of options available in the last decade, and can choose from plans offered by eight firms. Among the majority of Medicare Advantage plans that cover prescription drugs, 54 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,…
With questions being raised about potential delays in U.S. Postal Service delivery, a new KFF data note estimates 14 million enrollees in Medicare Part D and large employer plans relied on mail-order pharmacies for at least one prescription in 2018, with a total of over 170 million prescriptions fulfilled. The use of mail-order pharmacies has been rising in recent years as patients have often been incentivized or mandated to use mail service for convenience and…
Chartpack: Selected Findings on Seniors' Views of the Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit These charts highlight key data from the February 2006 tracking poll on seniors' views toward the new Medicare drug benefit. Chartpack (.pdf)
National Survey of Pharmacists 2006: Full Topline Results These toplines provide additional findings from a 2006 national survey of pharmacists on their views and experiences on a wide range of health care issues. Toplines (.pdf)
This updated chartpack presents sources of supplemental and prescription drug coverage among Medicare beneficiaries in 2007, the most recent year for which national data are available. The chartpack looks at variations in supplemental and prescription drug coverage by income, race/ethnicity, age, urban/rural location, and health status. It also examines characteristics of Medicare beneficiaries with low incomes who are not enrolled in a Part D plan or receiving Part D low-income subsidies. Prepared by Kaiser Family…
The Senate and House of Representatives each approved legislation in June of 2003 that would establish outpatient prescription drug coverage for Medicare beneficiaries as part of Medicare program reform. Among the key differences in the House and Senate bills that still must be addressed are the treatment of Medicaid beneficiaries and the structure of low-income subsidy programs. The way in which these issues are resolved will have major implications for Medicaid beneficiaries, other low-income individuals,…
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