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  • The New Medicare Prescription Drug Law:  Issues for Dual Eligibles with Disabilities and Serious Conditions

    Issue Brief

    The New Medicare Prescription Drug Law: Issues for Dual Eligibles with Disabilities and Serious Conditions The new issue paper discusses the challenges the new Medicare drug program faces in meeting the needs of dual eligible individuals with disabilities, who tend to have extensive, complex and varying needs. The brief examines four key questions about how the new benefit will serve dual eligibles with disabilities and profiles some individuals from this population for whom prescription drugs…

  • How Many Medicare Part D Enrollees Had High Out-of-Pocket Drug Costs in 2017?

    Issue Brief

    The Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit has helped improve the affordability of medications for people with Medicare. Yet Part D enrollees can face relatively high out-of-pocket costs because the Part D benefit does not have a hard cap on out-of-pocket spending. This analysis presents the latest data on out-of-pocket drug spending among Medicare Part D enrollees without low-income subsidies who have costs above the catastrophic coverage threshold.

  • Utilization and Spending Trends in Medicaid Outpatient Prescription Drugs, 2014-2017

    Issue Brief

    Although the outpatient drug benefit accounts for only 6% of total Medicaid spending, drug spending has increased by double digits in recent years, and is expected to grow faster than most other Medicaid services in the next 10 years. This issue brief examines drug spending and utilization from 2014 through 2017 by drug group, brand and generic status, and biologic status to understand the causes for this increase in spending.

  • Explainer Video Breaks Down Prescription Drug Rebates and Why They Matter in the Debate About Prescription Drug Costs

    News Release

    A new KFF animation explains how rebates for prescription drugs work, including how they are determined, who benefits from them, how they affect spending by insurers and consumers and the role of pharmacy benefit managers in the process. The Trump Administration had proposed banning such rebates in Medicare Part D, but dropped the proposal amid concerns that it would lead to higher costs for insurers, consumers and the Medicare program. It is still possible that…

  • Data Note: Prescription Drugs and Older Adults

    Issue Brief

    This data note explores the attitudes and experiences of older adults, ages 65 and up, when it comes to prescription drugs and related policy proposals being discussed. Experiences across different demographic groups are explored, such as household income and health status.

  • 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.

  • New Analysis Compares Prescription Drug Spending and Use Across Large Employer Plans, Medicare, and Medicaid

    News Release

    As policymakers debate how to address the high cost of prescription drugs, a new KFF analysis compares data on prescription drug spending and use across large employer plans, Medicare Part D and Medicaid, and provides context for policy discussions about different approaches to curb rising drug costs that would affect people covered by each of the three major payers. The data show that private insurers, Medicare and Medicaid account for 82 percent of retail prescription…