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This fact sheet summarizes Medicaid’s role as the major source of outpatient pharmacy services for low-income Americans. Medicaid spent $25.4 billion on prescription drugs in fiscal year 2009, and outpatient prescription drug coverage is an optional benefit that all state Medicaid programs currently provide. Fact Sheet (.pdf)
Since 2006, Medicare beneficiaries have had the opportunity to choose from among dozens of plans to get the Part D prescription drug benefit, facing wide variation in benefits, premiums and cost-sharing. The array of choices, with more than 50 stand-alone drug plans in many states, could allow beneficiaries to select a plan that provides the best value for their individual medical and economic needs. This study uses actual pharmacy claims experiences, and premium and cost-sharing…
Prospects for Retiree Health Benefits as Medicare Drug Coverage Begins:Findings from the Kaiser/Hewitt 2005 Survey on Retiree Health Benefits - Report This report assesses how large businesses that provide retiree health benefits to their workers are responding to the new Medicare drug benefit in 2006, their plans for the future, and the way these responses affect retirees. It also looks at the rising costs and changing benefits of retiree health coverage overall in 2005. Full…
In a few short weeks, Medicare will undergo big changes that will have a major impact on more than 3 million Hispanic seniors and younger people with permanent disabilities who rely on Medicare for their health coverage. More than one in three Hispanics with Medicare lack coverage for their prescription drugs for at least part of the year. Many others will need to make decisions about their existing coverage and the new Medicare benefit. Starting…
This policy brief provides perspective on the potential for using comparative effectiveness research in Medicaid pharmacy programs by looking at seven states to determine how they currently evaluate relative clinical and cost information about prescription drugs when making coverage decisions for their Medicaid pharmacy benefits. The brief was prepared by researchers at the Foundation's Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured and Avalere Health. Policy Brief (.pdf)
This data spotlight examines the stand-alone Part D drug plan options available to Medicare beneficiaries in 2012. Medicare beneficiaries will, on average, be able to choose from 31 stand-alone Medicare Part D prescription drug plans to choose from, a new Kaiser analysis finds. Average premiums would increase by 4 percent from 2011 to 2012 if beneficiaries remain with their current plans during the open enrollment period, which begins October 15 and December 31. That represents…
Observations on the Initial Implementation of the Medicare Prescription Drug Program: Perspectives of State Medicaid Directors Through a Focus Group Discussion Medicaid directors express the need to continue to focus on the interaction between Medicaid and the Medicare prescription drug benefit and to address the key system and coordination issues that remain, particularly with the potential disruptions that could occur in January 2007 when new Medicare drug plan contracts and recalculated benchmarks for the low-income…
These toplines include selected findings from the June 2006 Kaiser Health Poll Report Survey, a bimonthly survey designed to provide key tracking information on public opinion about health care topics. Toplines (.pdf)
The House and Senate versions of a Medicare prescription drug bill treat the drug costs of those dually-eligible for Medicare and Medicaid and other low-income Medicare beneficiaries quite differently. The Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured cosponsored a policy briefing on the key issues in the two bills that would impact low-income beneficiaries and released a brief and background report on the topic. A Prescription Drug Benefit in Medicare: Implications for Medicaid and Low-Income…
The survey, which assessed seniors' views of and experiences with the Medicare drug benefit, was conducted November 9-19 by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health. It included a nationally representative sample of 718 seniors, including 275 who reported being enrolled in a Medicare drug plan. The questions about experiences under the Medicare drug benefit were part of a larger survey of 1,867 adults on the public's health agenda for Congress…
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