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  • Medicare Drug Discount Cards: A Work In Progress (Briefing)

    Other Post

    Medicare Drug Discount Cards: A Work In Progress This report examines the early experience with the Medicare-Approved Drug Discount Card Program, prices offered by card sponsors, and potential savings for enrollees. The report presents information about approved discount card programs, including sponsors, enrollment fees, and drugs covered, as well as beneficiary education and outreach efforts by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The pricing analysis shows that discount cards can deliver savings off of…

  • Current Trends and Future Outlook for Retiree Health Benefits:  Findings from the Kaiser/Hewitt 2004 Survey on Retiree Health Benefits

    Other Post

    Current Trends and Future Outlook for Retiree Health Benefits: Findings from the Kaiser/Hewitt 2004 Survey on Retiree Health Benefits A new survey of large employers finds businesses and retirees experienced double-digit increase in retiree health costs, with further increases expected in 2005. The survey also includes an early look at employers' responses to the new Medicare drug law. News Release Report - Interactive online version and downloadable chapters Chartpack Materials From the December 14, 2004…

  • The Medicare Part D Low-Income Subsidy Program: Experience to Date and Policy Issues for Consideration

    Issue Brief

    This policy brief examines the low-income subsidy program that provides premiums and cost-sharing assistance under Part D plans, documenting trends in both beneficiary and plan participation over time. With fewer plans available to low-income enrollees without having to pay a premium, and annual changes in those plans, the brief discusses challenges facing low-income Part D enrollees and strategies that could be used to increase the effectiveness of the subsidy program. It was prepared for the…

  • Medicare Prescription Drug Improvement and Modernization Act Implementation Timeline: June 2004 – December 2006 Key Dates

    Report

    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…

  • Choosing a Medicare Part D Plan: Are Medicare Beneficiaries Choosing Low-Cost Plans?

    Report

    Since 2006, Medicare beneficiaries have had the opportunity to choose from among dozens of plans to get the Part D prescription drug benefit, facing wide variation in benefits, premiums and cost-sharing. The array of choices, with more than 50 stand-alone drug plans in many states, could allow beneficiaries to select a plan that provides the best value for their individual medical and economic needs. This study uses actual pharmacy claims experiences, and premium and cost-sharing…

  • Voices of Beneficiaries: Attitudes Toward Medicare Part D Open Enrollment for 2008

    Other Post

    This report focuses on the recent experiences of a group of 35 Medicare beneficiaries in the early years of the Medicare prescription drug benefit, including a number who were enrolled in a Medicare Part D drug plan in 2007. It looks at their attitudes about the open enrollment season for 2008, and their interest related to switching to a new Part D plan for 2008. It finds that most enrollees do not intend to reexamine…

  • The Obama Administration’s 2010 Call Letter for Medicare Advantage and Prescription Drug Plans: Implications for Beneficiaries

    Issue Brief

    On March 30, 2009, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued the 2010 “call letter,” which functions as a request for proposals to private health insurers and organizations that want to sponsor Medicare Advantage Plans or Medicare Prescription Drug Plans. This issue brief reviews the call letter — the first issued by the Obama Administration — and examines the implications for beneficiaries of some of the proposed changes, including its emphasis on accountability of health plan sponsors, promoting…

  • Medicare Part D 2009 Data Spotlight: Specialty Tiers

    Issue Brief

    Most Medicare Part D prescription drug plans use tiers with different cost-sharing amounts for generic, preferred, and non-preferred drugs, and also include an additional “specialty” tier for very high cost and unique drugs. This 2009 Part D Data Spotlight examines use of the specialty tier, including the numbers and kinds of drugs included on specialty tiers, what beneficiaries pay for those drugs, and trends over time. The spotlight is one in a series analyzing key…

  • Explaining Health Reform: Medicare and the New Independent Payment Advisory Board

    Issue Brief

    This brief describes how the new board created under the 2010 health reform law is expected to limit the growth in Medicare spending over time. Starting in 2014, if projected per capita Medicare spending exceeds targets set in the law, the board must recommend ways to reduce Medicare spending, while maintaining quality and access to care for beneficiaries. The board’s recommendations automatically take effect the next year unless Congress adopts an alternative plan to achieve…

  • Medicare Part D 2010 Data Spotlight: The Coverage Gap

    Report

    This data spotlight examines the coverage gap, or "doughnut hole," in Medicare stand-alone drug plans available in 2010. 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 2010, nearly all the private stand-alone drug plans have a coverage gap, though a small share do provide some help to beneficiaries in the…