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This post provides an overview of how health care coverage and access will and won’t change when the public health emergency ends on May 11, including a discussion of COVID-19 vaccines, tests, and treatments, and telemedicine.
A KFF analysis shows that a new out-of-pocket spending cap in Medicare Part D could translate into savings for well over 1 million beneficiaries when it takes effect next year, including more than 100,000 people each in California, Florida and Texas, based on analyses of drug spending in 2021. The $2,000 cap, part of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, will lead to thousands of dollars in savings for Medicare patients who take high-cost drugs…
This primer 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. It looks at the characteristics of the Medicare population, what benefits are covered, how much people with Medicare pay for their benefits and the program’s overall costs and future financing challenges.
This Data Spotlight reviews national and state-level enrollment trends as of March 2015 and examines variation in enrollment by plan type and firm. It analyzes the most recent data on premiums, out-of-pocket limits, Part D cost-sharing for drugs, and plans’ quality ratings for Medicare Advantage enrollees.
Despite initial controversy and uncertainties, Medicare Part D now provides drug coverage to thirty-nine million beneficiaries through dozens of private plans in each region. Although firmly established, the program faces challenges, including projected spending growth. Enrollees also face challenges as plans adopt new strategies to control costs.
With Medicare Part D nearing the end of its tenth year, the program -- which now provides drug coverage to 72 percent of all Medicare beneficiaries -- has experienced no growth in average premiums in recent years but some notable increases in cost-sharing, according to a new report from the Kaiser Family Foundation. At a time of heightened public concern about the cost of prescription drugs, the report, Medicare Part D at Ten Years: The…
Since 2006, Medicare beneficiaries have had access through Medicare Part D to prescription drug coverage offered by private plans, either stand-alone prescription drug plans (PDPs) or Medicare Advantage prescription drug plans (MA-PD plans). Now in its tenth year, Part D has evolved due to changes in the private plan marketplace and the laws and regulations that govern the program. This report presents findings from an analysis of the Medicare Part D marketplace in 2015 and…
This synthesis of key findings from analysis presented in a series of eight Medicare Part D 2008 Data Spotlights describes key features of stand-alone prescription drug plans offered in 2008 and trends since 2006. The synthesis covers a range of topics, including premiums, the coverage gap, benefit design, cost sharing, specialty tiers, formularies, utilization management, the top 10 brand-name prescription drugs, and the availability of low-income subsidy plans. The analysis was conducted jointed by Jack…
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 discount card programs run by both private sponsors and state governments and provides background information on the implications of this approach to assisting Medicare beneficiaries…
This document provides a side-by-side comparison of four major federal proposals under consideration to provide outpatient prescription drug coverage to Medicare beneficiaries. It begins with a summary table comparing key features of each proposal, followed by a detailed comparison of the following major proposals: Clinton/Moynihan (The Medicare Modernization Act), House-Passed Plan (The Medicare Rx 2000 Act), Breaux/Frist (The Medicare Prescription Drug and Modernization Act), and Graham/Bryan/Robb (The Medicare Outpatient Drug Act of 2000). Side-by-side
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