Medicare

NEW AND NOTEWORTHY

What to Know About Medicare Coverage of Telehealth

Congress has repeatedly extended pandemic-era flexibilities around Medicare coverage of telehealth, but most such flexibilities remain temporary. This brief answers key questions about the current scope of Medicare telehealth coverage, including both temporary and permanent changes adopted through legislation and regulation, and future policy considerations.

Examining the Potential Impact of Medicare’s New WISeR Model

A federal initiative to establish new prior authorization requirements in traditional Medicare, called the Wasteful and Inappropriate Service Reduction (WISeR) model, is likely to have only modest impact in its first year.

State Profiles for Dual-Eligible Individuals

This data collection draws on Medicare and Medicaid administrative data to present national and state-level information on people who are covered by both Medicare and Medicaid, referred to as dual-eligible individuals (also known as dually-enrolled beneficiaries).

Data Visualization

The Facts About Medicare Spending

This interactive provides the facts on Medicare spending. Medicare, which serves 67 million people and accounts for 12 percent of the federal budget and 21 percent of national health spending, is often the focus of discussions about health expenditures, health care affordability and the sustainability of federal health programs. u003cbru003eu003cbru003eExplore data on enrollment growth, Medicare spending trends overall and per person, growth in Medicare spending relative to private insurance, spending on benefits and Medicare Advantage, Part A trust fund solvency challenges, and growth in out-of-pocket spending by beneficiaries.u003cbru003eu003cbru003eu003ca href=u0022https://www.kff.org/medicare/issue-brief/faqs-on-medicare-financing-and-trust-fund-solvency/u0022 data-type=u0022linku0022 data-id=u0022https://www.kff.org/medicare/issue-brief/faqs-on-medicare-financing-and-trust-fund-solvency/u0022u003eRelated:u003ca href=u0022https://www.kff.org/medicare/issue-brief/faqs-on-medicare-financing-and-trust-fund-solvency/u0022u003e FAQs on Medicare Financing and Trust Fund Solvencyu003c/au003eu003c/au003e

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  • KFF News Release

    10 Prescription Drugs Accounted for $48 Billion in Medicare Part D Spending in 2021, or More Than One-Fifth of Part D Spending That Year  

    News Release

    A new KFF analysis finds that the 10 top-selling prescription drugs under Medicare Part D comprised less than 1 percent of all covered drugs in 2021, but accounted for 22 percent, or $48 billion, of gross Medicare Part D drug spending that year. The analysis provides context for understanding the federal government’s new authority under the Inflation Reduction Act to negotiate prices for some high-spending drugs covered by Part D, Medicare’s outpatient prescription drug benefit…

  • How Do Dual-Eligible Individuals Get Their Medicare Coverage?

    Issue Brief

    People who are dually eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid coverage can get their Medicare coverage in a variety of ways. The brief breaks out the data for traditional Medicare, Medicare Advantage plans that are available to all Medicare beneficiaries, and plans that are designed specifically for dual-eligible beneficiaries.

  • KFF Health Tracking Poll July 2023: The Public’s Views Of New Prescription Weight Loss Drugs And Prescription Drug Costs

    Feature

    About half of adults are interested in taking prescription weight loss drugs. though interest drops when presented with obstacles or drawbacks. Many adults struggle with affording prescription drugs and say there should be more price regulation. Few are aware of provisions in the 2023 Inflation Reduction Act aimed at lowering the drug price for Medicare beneficiaries

  • News Release

    Poll: Nearly Half of Adults Would Be Interested in Prescription Weight-Loss Drugs, But Enthusiasm Fades Based on Lack of Coverage and Risk of Regaining Weight 

    News Release

    Nearly half (45%) of the public are at least somewhat interested in taking a prescription weight-loss drug, including many who say they only want to lose a little weight, though many people lose interest when presented with potential financial and medical drawbacks, the latest KFF Health Tracking Poll reveals.The poll gauges the public’s interest in using prescription drugs to lose weight as a relatively new class of drugs, initially approved to treat diabetes, is garnering…

  • News Release

    Medicare Advantage Insurers Will Collect at Least $12.8 Billion in Federal Bonus Payments in 2023—a Nearly 30% Increase from 2022

    News Release

    Federal spending on bonus payments to insurance companies that offer Medicare Advantage plans will reach at least $12.8 billion in 2023, according to a new KFF analysis. That is a nearly 30% increase from 2022, and more than quadruple the spending in 2015. These data come from one of three analyses released today by KFF that examine various facets of the Medicare Advantage program, which provides health insurance coverage to nearly 31 million Americans. KFF…

  • Unpacking the Prescription Drug Provisions of the Build Back Better Act

    Event Date:
    Event

    As the Build Back Better Act shifts from the House to the Senate, there’s considerable interest in provisions that would lower the cost of prescription drugs. The House-passed bill would allow the federal government to negotiate prices for some high-cost drugs in Medicare, and set a hard cap on out-of-pocket drug spending for Medicare Part D enrollees.  For people with Medicare and private insurance, the legislation would limit annual increases in drug prices and cap…

  • Sustaining Medicare for the Future: What’s Next In the Debt-Reduction Debate? Briefing and Panel Discussion

    Event Date:
    Event

    As Washington continues to search for long-term solutions to reduce federal spending, with Medicare often at the forefront of these discussions, the Kaiser Family Foundation held a policy briefing Wednesday, Jan. 30, at 9:30 a.m. to explore options that could be considered to reduce Medicare spending, and their implications for beneficiaries. Kaiser Family Foundation CEO Drew Altman provided opening remarks. The briefing featured a panel discussion with three former Medicare administrators –Mark McClellan of the…

  • Probing the Legal Arguments in the Drug Industry’s Challenges to Medicare Drug Price Negotiations

    Event Date:
    Event

    With the Biden administration’s announcement of the first 10 drugs to be negotiated for Medicare as part of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), an array of legal challenges from the pharmaceutical industry is potentially the biggest obstacle to implementation. On Tuesday, September 12, two legal experts and a health policy expert joined Larry Levitt, executive vice president for health policy at KFF, for a 45-minute discussion about the legal issues underpinning these lawsuits and how…