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Medicare's New Prescription Drug Benefit: The Voices of People Dually Covered by Medicare and Medicaid This focus group report highlights the kinds of questions, uncertainties, and reactions that dual eligibles have when asked about the impending changes in their drug coverage. Report (.pdf)
- Issue Paper This Issue Paper describes the discount card and low-income assistance programs and discusses their implications for low-income Medicare beneficiaries and state Medicaid programs. Issue Paper (.pdf)
This chartpack includes recent survey results on the Medicare prescription drug law and seniors' use of the Internet. Chartpack (.pdf)
This report examines the formulary and cost management provisions of the final Medicare regulations implementing the new Medicare Part D drug benefit that was passed as part of the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003, and their implications for people with Medicare who enroll in new drug plans and their access to medications. It was prepared for the Foundation by Jack Hoadley, Ph.D., of the Health Policy Institute at Georgetown University. Issue Brief (.pdf)
To better understand the private plans providing drug coverage to Medicare beneficiaries under the Part D benefit, the Kaiser Family Foundation has issued a series of data spotlights analyzing key elements of Medicare's private drug plans. Each spotlight focuses on a key aspect of the drug plans available to Medicare beneficiaries each year and examines relevant trends since the Medicare drug benefit took effect in 2006. Medicare Part D 2013 Data Spotlights Medicare Part D…
This Medicare Part D Data Spotlight focuses on the availability of drug plans for beneficiaries receiving the Part D low-income subsidy in 2009 and changes since 2006. For 2009, fewer than one in five plans qualify for automatic or facilitated enrollment of low-income subsidy beneficiaries, the lowest share since the inception of the Part D benefit. These plans have monthly premiums below a benchmark amount calculated for each region, enabling low-income subsidy beneficiaries to enroll…
This initial analysis examines the private stand-alone Part D drug plans will be available to Medicare beneficiaries in 2011 and provides an early look at key trends in the options, premiums, and other plan characteristics. It finds that the average Medicare beneficiary will have a choice of 33 Part D stand-alone prescription drug plans in 2011, despite a 30 percent reduction in the total number of stand-alone plans available nationwide. Monthly premiums for stand-alone prescription…
The Kaiser Family Foundation has issued this collection of analyses related to the Medicare Part D stand-alone drug plan options available to seniors in 2012. These spotlights focuses on key aspects of the drug plan choices available and relevant trends since the Medicare drug benefit took effect in 2006. They were prepared by a team of researchers at Georgetown University, NORC at the University of Chicago and the Kaiser Family Foundation. Analysis Of Medicare Prescription…
These key findings from the Foundation's 2012 National Survey of Seniors relate to seniors’ knowledge and experience with Medicare’s open enrollment period and choosing a plan. The survey finds one in four seniors say they are unaware of this annual opportunity to review and change their Medicare coverage, with even larger shares who say they are unaware of Medicare’s open enrollment period among blacks and Hispanics and those seniors in fair or poor health, with…
This 50-state survey of Medicaid officials assesses states’ early experience relating to the transition of low-income seniors and people with disabilities enrolled in both Medicaid and Medicare (dual eligibles) to the Medicare Part D drug benefit. Conducted by Health Management Associates, the survey covers the types of problems observed by states during the transition of dual eligibles to the Medicare drug benefit, state actions to correct problems and ensure temporary coverage, and specific data on…
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