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For a number of years, Governors and other state policymakers have maintained that Medicare - rather than state Medicaid programs - should play the key role in providing prescription drug coverage to Medicare beneficiaries, including those who also qualify for Medicaid because they are impoverished and/or have extensive health care needs (i.e, the "dual eligibles").
This Medicare Part D data spotlight examines the benefit design of Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Plans (PDP) in 2008, focusing on national plans. It shows that in 2008, as in previous years, only about 10 percent of national prescription drug plans offered the defined standard benefit.
Recent polls show that a substantial portion of families worry about whether their incomes will keep pace with rising prices generally and whether they will have to pay more for health care or health insurance.
This issue brief examines the recent boom in Medicare Advantage enrollment attributable to employers contracting with Private Fee-for-Service (PFFS) plans to cover their Medicare-eligible retirees. Between 2006 and 2008, the number of Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare Advantage group plans nearly doubled from 900,000 to nearly 1.
Medicare Drug Discount Cards: A Work In Progress This report examines the early experience with the Medicare-Approved Drug Discount Card Program, prices offered by card sponsors, and potential savings for enrollees.
This table highlights changes in the appeal and grievance procedures included in the proposed and final regulations implementing the drug benefit. It was prepared for the Foundation by Sara Rosenbaum, J.D., of the George Washington University School of Public Health. Issue Brief (.
This Medicare Part D data spotlight examines the coverage gap, or "doughnut hole," in Medicare drug plans available in 2009. While in the gap in coverage, Part D enrollees (other than those receiving low-income subsidies) are required to pay 100 percent of total drug costs until they reach the catastrophic coverage level.
Key Implementation Dates for the Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit This timeline presents important dates and deadlines of key implementation activities related to the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA). It runs from the beginning of 2005 through the end of 2006, the first year of the new Medicare drug benefit.
Tracking Poll Finds Seniors Now Split on Medicare Drug Benefit This August tracking survey shows modest progress in seniors' knowledge about the Medicare drug benefit. Also, for the first time, the tracking poll shows seniors are as likely to say that they have a favorable impression of the drug benefit as an unfavorable one.
Health News Index July/August, 2005 These toplines provide the complete survey questions and responses to the July/August 2005 Kaiser Health Poll Report, a bimonthly report designed to provide key tracking information on public opinion about health care topics to journalists, policymakers and the general public.
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