Prescription Drugs - Research and Data from KFF

Drug costs are a problem for a greater share of women than men

May 17, 2018

Feature

Source 2017 Kaiser Women's Health Survey

Three firms Account for Over Half of All Medicare Part D Enrollees in 2018, and Pending Mergers Would Further Consolidate the Marketplace

May 17, 2018

News Release

In 2018, three Medicare Part D plan sponsors—UnitedHealth, Humana, and CVS Health—account for more than half of the program’s 43 million Part D enrollees (55%) and two-thirds of all stand-alone drug plan enrollees, indicating a marketplace that is dominated by a handful of major insurers, according to a new Kaiser Family Foundation analysis of Part D enrollment, premiums and cost-sharing data. The proposed mergers of CVS Health and Aetna, and Cigna and Express Scripts would…

Medicare Part D in 2018: The Latest on Enrollment, Premiums, and Cost Sharing

May 17, 2018

Issue Brief

This brief about the 2018 Medicare Part D marketplace analyzes the latest data on Medicare drug coverage and trends over time, including both stand-alone prescription drug plans and Medicare Advantage drug plans. The analysis focuses on enrollment, premiums, cost sharing, and the low-income subsidy.

Registered voters favor candidates who support lowering drug costs

May 10, 2018

Feature

Source Kaiser Health Tracking Poll: Preview of the Role of Health Care in the 2018 Midterm Campaigns

Kaiser Health Tracking Poll: Preview of the Role of Health Care in the 2018 Midterm Campaigns

May 10, 2018

Feature

The latest KFF Health Tracking Poll finds health care ranking among the top issues voters want to hear candidates talk about during their congressional campaigns, with health care cost ranking as the top health care issue for voters across partisanship. However, for many voters, including one-third of Republican voters, a candidate’ position on President Trump will make the biggest difference in how they vote in 2018. This month’s poll also takes an in-depth look at…

Six Months ahead of the Midterm Elections, Democratic and Republican Voters’ Views about President Trump Outweigh their Views on Issues, Including Health Care

May 10, 2018

News Release

Who are the “Health Care Voters”? Mostly Women, and Mostly Planning to Vote Democratic As primary season for the 2018 midterm elections heats up, the latest Kaiser Family Foundation poll suggests the elections are shaping up more as a referendum on President Trump than on health care or any other issue. When asked what will make the biggest difference in how they vote in the Congressional elections, larger shares of Democrats and Republicans cite candidates’…

As Americans age, Medicare will pay for a growing share of the nation’s prescription drugs

May 2, 2018

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COW – powerpoint on Medicare drug spending share increasing Download Source Kaiser Family Foundation analysis of National Health Expenditure (NHE) Historical (1960-2016) and Projected (2017-2026) data from Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Office of the Actuary, National Health Statistics Group (Accessed on May 2, 2018) for the Peterson-Kaiser Health System Tracker.

Kaiser Health News Coverage of Prescription Drug Issues

Apr 19, 2018

Analysis: Cost of Treating Opioid Addiction Rose Rapidly for Large Employers as the Number of Prescriptions Has Declined

Apr 5, 2018

News Release

A new Kaiser Family Foundation analysis finds that while the use of prescription opioids among people with employer-based health coverage has declined to its lowest levels in over a decade, the cost of treating addiction and overdoses has increased sharply. The annual cost of treating opioid addiction and overdose – stemming from both prescription and illicit use -- has increased by more than eight-fold since 2004, from $0.3 billion dollars to $2.6 billion in 2016.…