Prescription Drugs - Research and Data from KFF

Medicare Part D in 2024: A First Look at Prescription Drug Plan Availability, Premiums, and Cost Sharing

Nov 8, 2023

Issue Brief

Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage is available for people with Medicare who enroll in private plans, either a stand-alone prescription drug plan (PDP) for people in traditional Medicare, or a Medicare Advantage plan that covers all Medicare benefits, including prescription drugs (MA-PD). This issue brief provides an overview of Part D plan availability and premiums in 2024 and key trends over time.

The New Help for Medicare Beneficiaries with High Drug Costs That Few Seem to Know About

Dec 12, 2023

Policy Watch

This policy watch highlights a change coming to the Medicare Part D drug benefit that will cap Part D enrollees' out-of-pocket drug costs, beginning in 2024, resulting in savings of thousands of dollars for high-cost drugs - a change that recent KFF tracking poll results show few older adults know about.

Year in Review: 10 Health Policy Issues for 2023

Dec 22, 2023

Fact Sheet

This fact sheet offers a look back at 10 issues that KFF tracked closely during 2023 in its polling, policy analysis and journalism, including summaries of major findings and news stories.

Gross Medicare Spending on Ozempic and Other GLP-1s Is Already Skyrocketing – Even Though Medicare Cannot Cover The Drugs for Weight Loss

Mar 23, 2024

News Release

A KFF analysis shows that gross total Medicare spending on Ozempic and other similar drugs has increased dramatically in recent years – even though Medicare is explicitly prohibited by law from covering the drugs for obesity. That’s because Medicare now covers the drugs, known as GLP-1s, for other medically accepted indications, including to treat diabetes. This week the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) informed Medicare drug plans that they can cover Wegovy, another…

Health Care Costs Top the Public’s List of Financial Worries, and Those Who Are Struggling the Most Want to Hear Presidential Candidates Discuss Economic and Health Care Issues

Feb 21, 2024

News Release

At a time when kitchen table economic problems are on voters’ minds, unexpected medical bills and health care costs top the public’s list of financial concerns, and voters who are struggling to pay their monthly bills are the most eager to hear the presidential candidates talk about economic and health care issues, the latest KFF Health Tracking Poll finds. Nearly 3 in 4 adults say they are worried about being able to afford unexpected medical…

As Pandemic-Era Policies End, Medicaid Programs Focus on Enrollee Access and Reducing Health Disparities Amid Future Uncertainties

Oct 23, 2024

Report

This report highlights certain policies in place in state Medicaid programs in FY 2024 and policy changes implemented or planned for FY 2025, which began on July 1, 2024 for most states.

How Many People with Employer-Sponsored Insurance Use the Drugs Slated for Medicare Price Negotiations

Aug 14, 2024

Issue Brief

Among the 167 million people with employer-sponsored insurance in 2022, 3.4 million used at least one of the first 10 drugs identified for Medicare price negotiations, according to a new analysis. The most used drug for people with employer-sponsored health insurance was Jardiance, a drug used to treat diabetes and heart failure, which was taken by more than 911,000 enrollees. The analysis uses the Merative MarketScan 2022 commercial claims to estimate the number of enrollees…

KFF Health Tracking Poll September 2024: Support for Reducing Prescription Drug Prices Remains High, Even As Awareness of IRA Provisions Lags

Sep 13, 2024

Feature

More than two years ago President Biden signed into law Medicare drug pricing provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act. KFF's September Health Tracking Poll examines voter's views on these provisions and finds that large majorities of voters are unaware of the provisions despite reporting support for them.

The First-Ever Government Negotiation Process for Drugs Has Finished, But the Politics Are Ongoing

Aug 19, 2024

Perspective

This post for Health Affairs Forefront examines how the results of the first-ever Medicare drug price negotiations will generate savings for the government and for Medicare beneficiaries, and how candidates' views on the issue could play a role in the upcoming elections and in the future of government negotiation.

A Status Report on Prescription Drug Policies and Proposals at the Start of the Biden Administration

Feb 11, 2021

Issue Brief

This brief provides a status update on prescription drug final rules advanced by the Trump Administration in its final months related to Medicare, importation, and 340B pricing for insulin and epinephrine, and an overview of key drug pricing proposals related to Medicare and prescription drug prices generally that were voted on but not enacted in the previous Congress that may return to the forefront of health policy discussions in the coming years.

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