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Medicare Part D: A First Look at Plan Offerings in 2016
During the Medicare open enrollment period, beneficiaries have the opportunity to enroll in a plan that provides Part D prescription drug coverage, either a stand-alone prescription drug plan (PDP) to supplement traditional Medicare, or a Medicare Advantage drug plan. This issue brief provides an overview of the 2016 PDP marketplace, focusing on key changes from 2015, based on analysis of data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. It presents analysis of PDP availability, premiums, benefit design, and low-income subsidy plans.
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Medicare Drug Plan Enrollees Would Face an Average 9 Percent Premium Increase Unless They Switch Plans During Open Enrollment, New Analysis Finds
Current enrollees in stand-alone Medicare Part D plans are projected to face an average 9 percent increase in premiums if they remain in their current plan for 2017, according to an analysis released today by the Kaiser Family Foundation. During Medicare’s 2017 open enrollment period, which runs from Oct. 15…
News Release Read More Health Affairs Blog: The Cost Of A Cure: Revisiting Medicare Part D And Hepatitis C Drugs
This blog post revisits an earlier analysis of the drug Sovaldi (sofosbuvir) using new data released by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and considers both the ongoing impact of hepatitis C drugs for Medicare Part D and the broader implications for Medicare of new high-priced drugs entering the market.
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One Million Medicare Part D Enrollees Had Out-of-Pocket Drug Costs above the Catastrophic Threshold in 2015
One million Medicare beneficiaries had out-of-pocket drug spending above the Part D catastrophic threshold in 2015, and the number with such high spending has risen sharply in recent years, according to a new analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation. While the Part D drug benefit has helped make drugs more…
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Medicare Part D: A First Look at Prescription Drug Plans in 2019
This issue brief provides an overview of the Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit plan landscape, with a focus on stand-alone drug plans, the largest segment of the Part D market. 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 top ten Part D plans for 2019.
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What Percent of New Medicare Beneficiaries Are Enrolling in Medicare Advantage?
The analysis examines enrollment in Medicare Advantage plans during beneficiaries’ first year on Medicare and finds that less than one-third or 29% enrolled in these private health plans, including HMOs or PPOs. The majority of people new to Medicare are choosing traditional Medicare in the year they first go on Medicare. The study looks at how these findings vary across age, Medicaid status, states, and counties.
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More Than Half of All People on Medicare Do Not Compare Their Coverage Options Annually
This analysis shows that more than half of Medicare beneficiaries do not compare coverage options annually during the open enrollment period, despite the fact that Medicare Advantage and Part D plans often change from one year to the next, which could lead to unexpected and avoidable costs for beneficiaries who do not review their options annually. It also highlights that many beneficiaries have difficulty understanding the Medicare program and comparing coverage options. Further, it shows that most beneficiaries do not use Medicare’s official information resources.
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Medicare Part D: A First Look at Medicare Prescription Drug Plans in 2021
This issue brief provides an overview of the Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit plan landscape for 2021, with a 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 2021.
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Analysis Finds That a Relatively Small Number of Drugs Account for the Majority of Medicare Prescription Drug Spending
A new KFF analysis finds that a relatively small share of drugs, mainly those without generic or biosimilar competitors, accounted for a disproportionate share of prescription drug spending in Medicare in 2019. This finding suggests that recent proposals that focus on prices for a limited number of high-cost drugs could…
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