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  • Issue Briefs Describe Changes in Private Plan Market and Effects on Medicare Beneficiaries

    Issue Brief

    These two issue briefs describe the different types of private plan options available to people on Medicare, identify key characteristics of the organizations offering the new Medicare drug benefit, and analyze how companies are positioning themselves to attract Medicare enrollees. The Growth of Private Plans in Medicare, 2006 The Landscape of Private Firms Offering Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage in 2006

  • Prescription Drug Coverage and Seniors: Findings from a 2003 National Survey

    Other Post

    This national survey of 17,685 seniors captures detailed information about their prescription drug use, coverage and experiences. It also includes state-specific comparative data for seniors in 12 states -- California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Louisiana, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Tennessee and Washington. This 2003 survey was conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation, the Commonwealth Fund and Tufts-New England Medical Center. An article presenting its findings was published by Health Affairs as a web exclusive…

  • Medicare Part D: Issues for Dual Eligibles on the Eve of Implementation

    Issue Brief

    Medicare Part D: Issues for Dual Eligibles on the Eve of Implementation This issue brief describes how dual eligibles are treated under the Medicare drug benefit and the issues raised by their transition from Medicaid to Medicare drug coverage. The brief also explores key differences in the Medicare drug benefit compared to Medicaid drug coverage (formularies, copayments, and appeals policies) which could make the shift especially challenging for dual eligibles. Issue Brief (.pdf)

  • Voices of Beneficiaries: Early Experiences with the Medicare Drug Benefit

    Report

    The Medicare Modernization Act established a voluntary prescription drug benefit for Medicare’s elderly and disabled beneficiaries provided by private plans that is open to all beneficiaries. This paper focuses on the decision-making process and the factors that influence decisions about Medicare drug plans, as well as beneficiaries’ early experiences and future concerns related to their prescription drug coverage. It is based on in-depth interviews held in March 2006 with diverse beneficiaries in four cities: Baltimore;…

  • Retiree Health Benefits Examined: Findings from the Kaiser/Hewitt 2006 Survey on Retiree Health Benefits

    Report

    This includes the full report on the 2006 Kaiser/Hewitt survey of large businesses that provide retiree health benefits to their workers. The Kaiser/Hewitt study, the fifth joint survey since 2002, analyzes responses from a non-probability sample of 302 businesses with 1,000 or more employees that offer retiree health benefits. These large firms collectively provide health benefits for 5.2 million retirees and dependents, including 3.4 million Medicare-eligible retirees. Together they account for more than one quarter…

  • Private Plans In Medicare: A 2007 Update

    Issue Brief

    This March 2007 issue brief, commissioned by the Kaiser Family Foundation, examines changes between 2006 and 2007 in the availability of and enrollment in Medicare Advantage and Medicare prescription drug plans overall and in urban and rural areas. It also focuses on the firms that are offering various types of Medicare plans. Marsha Gold of Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., prepared the brief. Issue Brief (.pdf)

  • Medicare Part D 2008 Data Spotlights

    Issue Brief

    To better understand changes in the private plans providing drug coverage to Medicare beneficiaries under the program's Part D benefit, the Kaiser Family Foundation is issuing a series of data spotlights analyzing key elements of Medicare's private drug plans. Each spotlight will focus on a key aspect of the drug plans that will be available to Medicare beneficiaries in 2008 and examine relevant trends since the Medicare drug benefit took effect in 2006. >>More Recent…

  • Medicare Part D 2008 Data Spotlight: The Coverage Gap

    Issue Brief

    This Medicare Part D data spotlight examines the coverage gap, or “doughnut hole,” in Medicare drug plans available in 2008. Part D enrollees (other than those receiving low-income subsidies) will reach the coverage gap after they incur $2,510 in total drug costs in 2008. At that point, enrollees are required to pay 100 percent of drug costs until they qualify for catastrophic coverage. The analysis finds that in 2008, more than a quarter of stand-alone…

  • Methodology Appendix to the Medicare Part D 2008 Data Spotlights

    Issue Brief

    The Kaiser Family Foundation has also posted an appendix detailing the methodology used in the Medicare Part D 2008 Data Spotlight series. The series analyzes key aspects of the 2008 Medicare Part D prescription drug plan choices. All of the spotlights in this series were prepared by a team of researchers at Georgetown University, NORC and the Kaiser Family Foundation. Data Spotlight Appendix (.pdf)

  • Medicare Part D 2008 Data Spotlight: Utilization Management

    Issue Brief

    This Medicare Part D data spotlight examines three common techniques used by Medicare stand-alone prescription drug plans in 2008 to manage enrollees’ use of formulary drugs, such as quantity limits, prior authorization, and step therapy rules. This is one in a series analyzing key aspects of the 2008 Medicare Part D prescription drug plan choices. It analyzes data from the 47 stand-alone prescription drug plans available nationwide using a sample of 169 commonly-used and high-cost…