Seniors - Research and Data from KFF

Medicare Part B Drugs: Cost Implications for Beneficiaries in Traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage

Mar 15, 2022

Issue Brief

In the face of rising prescription drug costs, a large majority of the public supports federal efforts to lower drug spending. Policymakers are considering several proposals that would lower prescription drug costs. To better understand the potential out-of-pocket cost exposure that Medicare beneficiaries may face for Part B drugs, which are typically administered by physicians and other health care providers, we analyzed cost-sharing liability for these drugs in traditional Medicare and cost-sharing requirements in Medicare Advantage plans.

Combined Federal and State Spending on Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) Totaled $116 billion in FY 2020, Serving Millions of Elderly Adults and People with Disabilities

Mar 4, 2022

News Release

The federal government and the states together spent a total of $116 billion on Medicaid home and community-based services (HCBS) in FY 2020, serving millions of elderly adults and people with disabilities, a new KFF analysis finds.

State Policy Choices About Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services Amid the Pandemic

Mar 4, 2022

Issue Brief

This issue brief presents findings on key state policy choices about Medicaid HCBS in FY 2020. This is the latest data available, and the first since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The data were collected in KFF’s 19th survey of state officials administering Medicaid HCBS programs in all 50 states and DC. A related brief presents the latest state-level data about the number of people receiving HCBS and HCBS spending

Medicaid Home & Community-Based Services: People Served and Spending During COVID-19

Mar 4, 2022

Issue Brief

This issue brief presents FY 2020 state-level data on the number of people receiving Medicaid HCBS and HCBS spending. This is the latest data available, and the first since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The data were collected in KFF’s 19th survey of state officials administering Medicaid HCBS programs in all 50 states and DC. A related brief presents the latest data and highlights themes in key state policy choices about optional HCBS.

The Gift of Experience vs. the Stress of Isolation: Older People Share How They’ve Made It Through the Pandemic

Event Date: Feb 23, 2022

Event

Older adults have suffered more illness and death from covid-19 than any other group. How are they faring as the pandemic enters its third year? KFF’s Kaiser Health News (KHN) and The John A. Hartford Foundation explored that question in depth in a 90-minute interactive web event on Feb. 23, 2022.

FAQs on Medicare Coverage and Costs Related to COVID-19 Testing and Treatment

Feb 3, 2022

Issue Brief

These FAQs provide the latest guidance on testing and treatment related to COVID-19 for Medicare beneficiaries, including questions related to out-of-pocket costs, the COVID-19 vaccine, telehealth, extended supplies of medication, skilled nursing facility stays, and issues for people in private Medicare Advantage plans.

Millions of Medicare Beneficiaries Use Prescription Drugs That Could Be Subject to Price Negotiation, But Build Back Better Act Provision Exempts Many Drugs With High Federal Spending

Jan 27, 2022

News Release

Twenty drugs and dozens of insulin products used by 8.5 million Medicare beneficiaries would be subject to government drug price negotiation if the Build Back Better Act (BBBA) were enacted and fully implemented in 2022, according to a new KFF analysis.

Simulating the Impact of the Drug Price Negotiation Proposal in the Build Back Better Act

Jan 27, 2022

Issue Brief

The Build Back Better Act (BBBA) includes a range of health and other proposals supported by President Biden, including a proposal to allow the federal government to negotiate the price of some prescription drugs covered under Medicare Part B (administered by physicians) and Medicare Part D (retail outpatient drugs). This brief illustrates the potential scope of the drug price negotiation proposal in the BBBA. This analysis is designed to highlight the types of Medicare-covered drugs that could be subject to negotiation, and which of the current top-spending drugs covered by Part B and Part D could be subject to price negotiation, and in what years, if the BBBA is enacted.

Why Medicare’s Aduhelm Coverage Decision Could Increase Pressure on Officials to Roll Back the Record Part B Premium Increase for 2022

Jan 14, 2022

News Release

In a new Policy Watch, KFF experts explain why Medicare’s preliminary decision to cover a new Alzheimer’s drug only for a limited group of beneficiaries is likely to intensify pressure on officials to reconsider the increase in the Medicare Part B premium for 2022.

Monthly Part B Premiums and Annual Percentage Increases

Jan 12, 2022

Feature

The $21.60 increase in 2022 is the largest in dollar terms since the start of the program, even though premiums have risen faster in percentage terms on three other occasions in the last 20 years

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