Prescription Drugs - Research and Data from KFF

What is the Potential Impact of New Drugs for Obesity and Alzheimer’s Disease on Medicare Costs, Coverage and Beneficiaries?

May 18, 2023

News Release

Two new KFF analyses examine the potential impact of Medicare coverage of new prescription drugs for obesity and Alzheimer’s disease on program spending and beneficiary out-of-pocket costs, as well as the role that the Inflation Reduction Act could play in mitigating these effects. Manufacturers of both types of drugs are lobbying for broad Medicare coverage of them, though they face different challenges. The availability of effective weight-loss drugs, including Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic and Wegovy (semaglutide)…

What Could New Anti-Obesity Drugs Mean for Medicare?

May 18, 2023

Policy Watch

In this piece, we discuss Medicare coverage of obesity treatments, the potential cost implications if Medicare covers anti-obesity drugs, and how the Inflation Reduction Act could potentially address these cost concerns.

Timeline of End Dates for Key Health-Related Flexibilities Provided Through COVID-19 Emergency Declarations, Legislation, and Administrative Actions

Apr 28, 2023

Issue Brief

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government declared numerous types of emergencies, Congress enacted several pieces of legislation, and various executive actions were taken and waivers issued, which established time-limited flexibilities and provisions designed to protect individuals and the health system during the pandemic. This resource provides a timeline identifying key health-related flexibilities and provisions specified by these various measures, the specific measure that determines their end date, and their end date.

Changes to Medicare Part D in 2024 and 2025 Under the Inflation Reduction Act and How Enrollees Will Benefit

Apr 20, 2023

Issue Brief

The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 includes several provisions to lower prescription drug costs for people with Medicare and reduce drug spending by the federal government, including a number of changes to the Medicare Part D drug benefit. This brief provides an overview of the Part D benefit design and Part D enrollee cost-sharing requirements in 2023 and changes coming in 2024 and 2025.

What Are the Prescription Drug Provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act?

Mar 17, 2023

Feature

This slideshow explains the prescription drug provisions proposed in the Inflation Reduction Act as passed by the Senate

Prescriptions to Treat Opioid Overdoses and Opioid Use Disorder Among Medicaid Enrollees Rose Sharply in the Years Leading Up to the Pandemic

Feb 17, 2023

News Release

State Medicaid programs saw a doubling of prescriptions for medications used to treat Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) or rapidly reverse opioid overdoses from 2016 to 2019, finds a new KFF analysis. KFF analysts studied the latest available Medicaid claims data -- detailed and comprehensive administrative data that can help answer questions and inform policy -- and found that the share of enrollees who received at least one medication used to treat OUD or reverse opioid…

A Look at Changes in Opioid Prescribing Patterns in Medicaid from 2016 to 2019

Feb 17, 2023

Issue Brief

This analysis builds on previous KFF work by using Medicaid claims data for 2016-2019 to explore how prescriptions for opioids used to treat pain and those used to treat OUD or rapidly reverse overdose changed across states and Medicaid enrollee demographic groups over time.

How Will the Prescription Drug Provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act Affect Medicare Beneficiaries?

Jan 24, 2023

Issue Brief

The brief provides a quick explainer of the prescription drug provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act signed into law on August 16, 2022 and presents new estimates on how many Medicare beneficiaries could be helped by those provisions.

Explaining the Prescription Drug Provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act

Jan 24, 2023

Issue Brief

The Inflation Reduction Act includes several provisions that will lower prescription drug costs for people with Medicare and reduce drug spending by the federal government. This brief summarizes these provisions and discusses the expected effects on people, program spending, and drug prices and innovation.

The Average Medicare Beneficiary Has a Choice of 43 Medicare Advantage Plans and 24 Part D Stand-Alone Plans for Coverage in 2023

Nov 10, 2022

News Release

For 2023, the typical beneficiary has a choice of 43 Medicare Advantage plans as an alternative to traditional Medicare, a new KFF analysis finds. That’s an increase of 5 plans on average from 2022, adding even more choices to the Medicare Advantage marketplace, which is poised to become the dominant way Medicare beneficiaries get their health coverage and care. In addition, the typical beneficiary has a choice of 24 Medicare Part D stand-alone prescription drug…

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