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With questions being raised about potential delays in U.S. Postal Service delivery, a new KFF data note estimates 14 million enrollees in Medicare Part D and large employer plans relied on mail-order pharmacies for at least one prescription in 2018, with a total of over 170 million prescriptions fulfilled.
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).
This issue briefs lays out 10 reasons why Medicare Advantage enrollment has been growing and why we can expect more growth in the years to come.
Each year, Medicare beneficiaries have an opportunity to make changes to how they receive their Medicare coverage during the nearly 8-week annual open enrollment period. This brief answers key questions about the Medicare open enrollment period and Medicare coverage options.
These FAQs provide the latest guidance on testing and treatment related to COVID-19 for Medicare beneficiaries, including questions related to out-of-pocket costs, the COVID-19 vaccine, telehealth, extended supplies of medication, skilled nursing facility stays, and issues for people in private Medicare Advantage plans.
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.
This issue brief provides an overview of the Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit market for 2022, with a primary focus on stand-alone drug plans. It includes national and state-level data on plan availability, premiums, benefit design, cost sharing, information about premium-free plans for low-income beneficiaries, and information about the national Part D drug plans available in 2022.
For 2022, the average Medicare beneficiary has access to 39 Medicare Advantage plans, the largest number of options available in the last decade, and can choose from plans offered by nine firms. Among the majority of Medicare Advantage plans that cover prescription drugs, 59 percent will charge no premium in addition to the monthly Medicare Part B premium. As in previous years, the vast majority of Medicare Advantage plans will offer supplemental fitness, dental, vision, and hearing benefits. In addition, virtually all will also offer telehealth benefits in 2022.
A summary of 10 of the major health coverage and financing provisions of the current Build Back Better Act, with discussion of the potential implications for people and the federal budget.
This brief focuses on the stand-alone Medicare Part D prescription drug plan marketplace and its somewhat uncertain future, in light of recent trends in plan availability and the potential for another year of premium increases in 2026, in part depending on what the Trump administration decides to do with the temporary Part D premium stabilization demonstration. The brief explains why the stability of the PDP market matters, both for people in traditional Medicare who want prescription drug coverage but also for the viability of traditional Medicare as an option vis a vis Medicare Advantage.
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