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Number of Medicare Part D Stand-Alone Prescription Drug Plans, by State, 2013 Download Source Kaiser Family Foundation analysis of Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) PDP landscape source file, 2013.
This report presents findings from an analysis of the Medicare Part D marketplace in 2014 and changes in features of the drug benefit offered by Part D plans since 2006. It examines the latest information and trends related to Part D enrollment and plan availability, premiums, benefit design and cost sharing, pharmacy networks, the Low-Income Subsidy Program, and plan performance ratings.
A new Kaiser Family Foundation analysis finds that average annual out-of-pocket prescription drug spending for workers and family members decreased from a recent high of $167 in 2009 to $144 in 2014. Most of the decline in out-of-pocket spending occurred between 2009 and 2012 and is likely due to generic substitution for popular drugs that lost patent protection. The decline in out-of-pocket-spending continued from 2012 to 2014 with nearly two-thirds of the decline during this…
As the White House and Congress continue to debate new funding and other actions to address the nation’s opioid epidemic, the latest Kaiser Health Tracking Poll finds that most Americans believe the federal government is not doing enough to combat the recent increases in the number of people who are addicted to prescription painkillers (66%) or heroin (62%). State governments fare no better in the public’s view, with similarly large shares saying they aren’t doing…
National health spending started to grow more rapidly recently after several years of unusually slow growth. This analysis from the Kaiser Family Foundation and the federal Bureau of Economic Analysis helps to dissect why that may be happening. Using recently-released disease-based health spending data compiled by the federal government, the analysis finds that the drivers of health spending growth shifted in the years following the Great Recession. The number of people treated for various diseases picked up,…
This issue brief provides an overview of the Medicare Part D stand-alone prescription drug plan options available in 2015 and key changes from prior years. The analysis examines Part D plan availability, premiums, benefit design features, and low income subsidy plan availability.
In this column for The Wall Street Journal’s Think Tank, Drew Altman examines the trends that may be leading to a rise in consumer cost issues on the health agenda.
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,…
The September Kaiser Health Tracking Poll takes a look at the public's attitudes on several major health policy issues including prescription drugs costs and the ACA. In addition, the poll explores how important health care issues are to voters during the 2016 presidential election.
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 affordable for people with Medicare, the lack of a hard cap on annual out-of-pocket spending under Part D exposes enrollees to significant costs, unless they…
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