Prescription Drugs

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…

While issues of health care costs and affordability may not be at the forefront of this year’s election issues, they remain a major concern among the public. About a quarter of Americans say they or a family member struggled to pay their medical bills just in the past year, and…

This policy watch explains the Medicaid prescription drug rebate cap, examines how many drugs might be impacted, and explores the implications of recent manufacturer responses for Medicaid programs and enrollees.

A new KFF policy watch explains some of the hurdles the state of Florida still must clear before it can implement its novel plan to make some prescription drugs more affordable by importing them from Canada. Florida’s plan represents the first time the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted…

Florida’s plan to import certain prescription drugs from Canada represents the first time the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted authority for a state to safely import prescription drugs from another country. This policy watch analysis unpacks some frequently asked questions related to state of Florida’s importation plan, including potential obstacles to implementation, who will benefit from any savings, and what types of drugs will (and will not) qualify for importation.

This fact sheet offers a look back at 10 issues that KFF tracked closely during 2023 in its polling, policy analysis and journalism, including summaries of major findings and news stories.

Despite a lower number of prescriptions in recent years, Medicaid spending on prescription drugs has increased, according to a new KFF analysis. Medicaid outpatient prescriptions peaked in 2017, before starting to decline and remaining below 2017 levels through 2022 – even with historic levels of Medicaid enrollment growth. Both gross…

This issue brief describes recent national Medicaid prescription drug utilization and spending trends, examines how the pandemic may have impacted those trends, and explores what recent trends could mean as states unwind the continuous enrollment provision and continue to contend with new, high-cost drugs entering the market.

This policy watch highlights a change coming to the Medicare Part D drug benefit that will cap Part D enrollees’ out-of-pocket drug costs, beginning in 2024, resulting in savings of thousands of dollars for high-cost drugs – a change that recent KFF tracking poll results show few older adults know about.