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  • The Role of PBMs in Managing Drug Costs: Implications for a Medicare Drug Benefit

    Other Post

    Extending a drug benefit to Medicare beneficiaries has been a highly publicized issue in recent months. To address the question of how to finance and administer such a benefit while controlling its cost, some have proposed using pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs)--companies that administer pharmaceutical benefits for health plans, HMOs, and employers while managing drug utilization and obtaining discounts from both retail pharmacies and manufacturers. Most recently, the Clinton Administration introduced a proposal for a Medicare…

  • Health News Index – May/June 2002

    Poll Finding

    Health News Index May/June, 2002 The Health News Index measures public attention to and knowledge about leading health stories covered in the news in April and May, including discussions in Congress about a Medicare prescription drug benefit and warnings by medical researchers about possible harmful side effects of newer prescription drugs compared to older, similarly effective drugs. The Health News Index is designed to help news media and people in the health field gain a…

  • Millions of Medicare Part D Enrollees Have Had Out-of-Pocket Drug Spending Above the Catastrophic Threshold Over Time

    Issue Brief

    Medicare Part D, the outpatient prescription drug benefit for Medicare beneficiaries, provides catastrophic coverage for high out-of-pocket drug costs, but there is no limit on the total amount that beneficiaries have to pay out of pocket each year. Policymakers on both sides of the aisle support proposals to modify the design of the Part D benefit and establish a hard cap on out-of-pocket prescription drug spending by Part D enrollees. This analysis shows the number…

  • A Record 3,834 Medicare Advantage Plans Will be Available in 2022, Up 8 Percent From 2021, While the Number of Medicare Part D Stand-Alone Plans is Decreasing Mainly Due to Firm Consolidations

    News Release

    A record 3,834 Medicare Advantage plans will be available across the country as alternatives to traditional Medicare for 2022, a new KFF analysis finds. That’s an increase of 8 percent from 2021, and the largest number of plans available in more than a decade. At the same time, the number of Medicare Part D stand-alone prescription drug plans that will be offered in 2022 is decreasing by 23 percent to 766 plans, primarily the result…

  • State Profiles Highlight Variations in How Many Low-Income Medicare Beneficiaries Get Additional Help with Their Medicare Costs

    News Release

    Medicare beneficiaries with low incomes and modest assets can qualify for additional financial help with Medicare premiums and cost sharing through both the Medicare Savings Programs and Medicare’s Part D Low-Income Subsidy for prescription drug coverage. A new analysis and collection of interactive profiles highlight variations across states in the number and characteristics of beneficiaries who receive this additional financial assistance, including race and ethnicity, gender, and age. These findings reflect differences between states such…

  • Explaining the Prescription Drug Provisions in the Build Back Better Act

    Issue Brief

    The Build Back Better Act includes several provisions that would lower prescription drug costs for people with Medicare and private insurance and reduce drug spending by the federal government and private payers. This brief summarizes these provisions and discusses the expected effects on people, program spending, and drug prices and innovation.

  • Potential Savings for Medicare Part D Enrollees Under Proposals to Add a Hard Cap on Out-of-Pocket Spending

    Issue Brief

    Medicare Part D, the outpatient prescription drug benefit for Medicare beneficiaries, provides coverage above a catastrophic threshold for high out-of-pocket drug costs, but there is no cap on total out-of-pocket drug costs that beneficiaries pay each year. Recent legislative proposals would add a cap on out-of-pocket spending under Part D. This analysis focuses on the potential impact of different out-of-pocket spending caps in terms of how many beneficiaries would be affected and how much they…

  • Standard Medicare Drug Benefit, 2006 Chart

    Report

    Standard Medicare Drug Benefit, 2006 Out-of-pocket drug spending for Medicare beneficiaries under the standard Medicare drug benefit described in the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003. Chart (.pdf)