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  • Do People Who Sign Up for Medicare Advantage Plans Have Lower Medicare Spending?

    Issue Brief

    The analysis finds that people who switched from traditional Medicare to Medicare Advantage in 2016 had health spending in 2015 that was $1,253 less, on average, than the average spending for beneficiaries who remained in traditional Medicare (after adjusting for health risk). The findings suggest that the current payment method may systematically overestimate expected costs of Medicare Advantage enrollees. Adjusting payments to reflect Medicare Advantage enrollees’ prior use of health services could potentially lower total…

  • Poll: Nearly 1 in 4 Americans Taking Prescription Drugs Say It’s Difficult to Afford Their Medicines, including Larger Shares Among Those with Health Issues, with Low Incomes and Nearing Medicare Age

    News Release

    As the Trump Administration and Congress weigh policy options to address high prescription drug prices, a fourth of people taking prescription drugs (24%) and seniors taking drugs (23%) say it is difficult for them to afford their medications, the latest KFF Health Tracking Poll finds. The groups most likely to report difficulties affording their medications include people with monthly drug costs of $100 or more (58%), in fair or poor health (49%), with annual incomes less than $40,000 (35%),…

  • How Much Does Medicare Spend on Insulin?

    Issue Brief

    The price of insulin, used by people with both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes to control blood glucose levels, has come under increasing scrutiny as policymakers grapple with rising drug costs. This data note finds spending on insulin by Medicare and beneficiaries enrolled in private Part D drug plans has increased sharply between 2007 and 2017.

  • Prescription Drug Rebates, Explained

    Video

    This animation explains how rebates for prescription drugs work and why they matter in the debate about lowering drug costs. The video breaks down how prescription drug rebates are determined, who benefits from them, how they affect spending by insurers and consumers and the role of pharmacy benefit managers in the process.

  • What Steps Are Washington Policymakers Pursuing to Control Medicare Prescription Drug Spending?

    News Release

    As policymakers in Washington discuss ways to curb the rising cost of prescription drugs, KFF has released a summary and analysis of proposals and recently finalized initiatives that affect Medicare prescription drug spending.  Medicare, the federal health program that covers more than 60 million seniors and younger people with disabilities, accounts for 30 percent of the nation’s retail prescription drug spending. A Look at Recent Proposals to Control Drug Spending by Medicare and its Beneficiaries…

  • Poll: The ACA’s Pre-Existing Condition Protections Remain Popular with the Public, including Republicans, As Legal Challenge Looms This Week

    News Release

    Public Not Confident in President Trump’s Calls on Drug Companies to Lower Prices As a federal court considers a challenge to the Affordable Care Act’s constitutionality, the public, including most Republicans, wants protections for people with pre-existing conditions preserved, the latest Kaiser Family Foundation tracking poll finds. Large majorities of Americans say it is “very important” to retain the ACA provisions that prevent insurance companies from denying coverage based on a person’s medical history (75%)…

  • While Republicans in Congress have largely opposed the IRA and Medicare drug price negotiation, President Trump appears to be embracing it. With this latest announcement, the Trump administration can take credit for delivering lower drug prices in Medicare, while Democrats can take credit for creating the Medicare drug price negotiation program in the first place.

    Understanding the Trump Administration’s Negotiated Drug Prices for Medicare

    Quick Insights

    While Republicans in Congress have largely opposed the IRA and Medicare drug price negotiation, President Trump appears to be embracing it. With this latest announcement, the Trump administration can take credit for delivering lower drug prices in Medicare, while Democrats can take credit for creating the Medicare drug price negotiation program in the first place.

  • Medicare Part D 2008 Data Spotlight: Specialty Tiers

    Issue Brief

    This Medicare Part D data spotlight focuses on the use of specialty tiers for high-cost and injectible drugs in Medicare Prescription Drug Plans in 2008. It finds that the number of plans with specialty tiers has nearly doubled since 2006. It also looks at the drugs assigned to specialty tiers, the beneficiary cost sharing structure, and policy implications such higher out-of-pocket expenses and selection issues among beneficiaries who evaluate plans based on cost sharing. This…