Medicare Part D - Research and Data from KFF

Medicare Part D Enrollees with Serious Health Conditions Can Face Thousands of Dollars in Out-of-Pocket Costs Annually for Specialty Drugs

Jan 29, 2019

News Release

Despite Medicare’s protections, Part D enrollees with serious health conditions can face thousands of dollars in annual out-of-pocket costs for expensive specialty drugs, a new KFF anaylsis finds. The analysis draws on data from Medicare’s Plan Finder website to calculate expected annual 2019 costs for more than two dozen specialty tier drugs used to treat four health conditions -- cancer, hepatitis C, multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis – based on coverage and costs in national and…

The Average Medicare Beneficiary Has a Choice of 43 Medicare Advantage Plans and 24 Part D Stand-Alone Plans for Coverage in 2023

Nov 10, 2022

News Release

For 2023, the typical beneficiary has a choice of 43 Medicare Advantage plans as an alternative to traditional Medicare, a new KFF analysis finds. That’s an increase of 5 plans on average from 2022, adding even more choices to the Medicare Advantage marketplace, which is poised to become the dominant way Medicare beneficiaries get their health coverage and care. In addition, the typical beneficiary has a choice of 24 Medicare Part D stand-alone prescription drug…

A Small Number of Drugs Account for a Large Share of Medicare Part D Spending

Jul 12, 2023

Issue Brief

The Inflation Reduction Act requires the federal government to negotiate the price of certain high-spending drugs covered by Medicare. This analysis provides context for understanding the potential impact of negotiating prices for a limited number of Medicare-covered drugs by identifying the 10 top-selling Part D drugs in 2021, measuring the share of total Part D drug spending accounted for by top-selling drugs that year, and examining changes in spending and use of these drugs since…

KFF Health Tracking Poll July 2023: The Public’s Views Of New Prescription Weight Loss Drugs And Prescription Drug Costs

Aug 4, 2023

Feature

About half of adults are interested in taking prescription weight loss drugs. though interest drops when presented with obstacles or drawbacks. Many adults struggle with affording prescription drugs and say there should be more price regulation. Few are aware of provisions in the 2023 Inflation Reduction Act aimed at lowering the drug price for Medicare beneficiaries

How Medicare’s New Drug Price Negotiation Program Could Expand Access to Selected Drugs

Sep 26, 2023

Issue Brief

This brief examines how Part D enrollees’ access to and utilization of the first set of 10 selected drugs could be affected by the new Part D coverage and formulary requirements for selected drugs established by the Inflation Reduction Act and in CMS guidance, as well as the potential for lower out-of-pocket costs.

The 4 Arguments You Will Hear Against Drug Price Negotiation

Sep 6, 2023

Perspective

As the Biden administration begins the process of negotiation drug prices for Medicare as authorized in the Inflation Reduction Act, KFF's Larry Levitt probes some of the arguments against it and the policy and political implications of the debate in this New York Times op-ed column.

With Medicare Open Enrollment Underway, Beneficiaries Typically Will Have a Choice of 43 Medicare Advantage Plans for 2024, Consistent with 2023 But More than Double The Number From 2018

Nov 8, 2023

News Release

With open enrollment underway, Medicare beneficiaries have until December 7th to review and select their coverage for 2024. They also have a lot of options to choose from, as two new KFF analyses show. For many beneficiaries, the first decision is whether to enroll in traditional Medicare (often with supplemental coverage and a stand-alone prescription drug plan) or Medicare Advantage, the private plans sponsored by insurance companies that now cover more than half of all…

3 Charts: Medicare Drug Price Negotiations

Jan 31, 2024

News Release

Under the Inflation Reduction Act, the federal government for the first time will negotiate directly with drug companies to determine the prices that Medicare will pay for certain high expenditure drugs covered under Medicare Part D (starting in 2026) and Part B (starting in 2028). Part D covers retail prescription drugs and Part B covers physician-administered medications. This new requirement is the culmination of years of debate among lawmakers in Congress, and the Centers for…

KFF Research Shows that Medicare Open Enrollment TV Ads Are Dominated by Medicare Advantage Plans Featuring Celebrities, Active and Fit Seniors, and Promises of Savings and Extra Benefits Without Fundamental Plan Information

Sep 20, 2023

News Release

The annual blitz of ads for Medicare Advantage plans has become a rite of fall, as health insurers, brokers and other third parties seek to court enrollees for these private plans, which are offered to the 65 million people with Medicare during the program’s open enrollment season. In advance of the open enrollment period starting on October 15, KFF reviewed more than 1,200 unique television ads that aired more than 643,000 times last year to…

Insulin Out-of-Pocket Costs in Medicare Part D

Jul 28, 2022

Issue Brief

Addressing the cost of insulin continues to be at the forefront of policy discussions around prescription drugs. This analysis describes out-of-pocket spending on insulin products by Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in Part D drug plans, along with state-level use and spending data.

Topics

Policy Research

Polling

Health News

Data & Features

For Media

About

View the Latest: Medicare Part D

Filter