Access Problems And Cost Concerns Of Younger Medicare Beneficiaries Exceeded Those Of Older Beneficiaries In 2019.

Medicare is a primary source of health insurance coverage for several million people younger than age sixty-five who have long-term disabilities. This analysis compared measures of access to care, cost concerns, and satisfaction with care for beneficiaries younger than age sixty-five versus those ages sixty-five and older, using the 2019 Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey. We also compared beneficiaries in traditional Medicare with those in Medicare Advantage, given that a growing share of younger beneficiaries with disabilities are enrolled in private plans.

Trends in Medicare Part D coverage of generics with equivalent brand-name drugs.

Objectives: To evaluate whether increased placement of generic drugs on higher cost-sharing tiers in Medicare Part D is associated with coverage of multisource brand-name drugs, plan type, or product characteristics.

Study Design: Descriptive study of Medicare Prescription Drug Formulary Files.

Methods: We analyzed plan coverage and tiering of brand-name drugs and matched generics from 2013-2019.

Medicare Part D Plans Rarely Cover Brand-Name Drugs When Generics Are Available.

Recent press reports and other evidence suggest that Medicare Part D plans may be encouraging the use of brand-name drugs instead of generics. However, the scope of such practices is unclear. We examined Medicare Part D formulary coverage and tier placement of matched pairs of brand-name drugs and generics to quantify how often preferred formulary placement of brand-name drugs is occurring within and across Part D plans and to assess the cost implications for Medicare and its beneficiaries.

The private health insurance choices of medicare beneficiaries: how much does price matter?

This article presents, critiques, and analyzes the influence of prices on insurance choices made by Medicare beneficiaries in the Medicare Advantage, Part D, and Medigap markets. We define price as health insurance premiums for the Medicare Advantage and Medigap markets, and total out-of-pocket costs (including premiums and cost sharing) for the Part D market. In Medicare Advantage and Part D, prices only partly explain insurance choices.

Medicare doesn't work as well for younger, disabled beneficiaries as it does for older enrollees.

Medicare is not working as well for its eight million disabled beneficiaries under age sixty-five as it is for its older beneficiaries. We report on a 2008 survey that found significant differences between the two Medicare populations, with the younger group experiencing more problems of cost and access. Even with the Medicare Part D prescription drug program, the nonelderly disabled reported greater difficulty in affording medications, and more adverse health consequences as a result.

How much 'skin in the game' do medicare beneficiaries have? The increasing financial burden of health care spending, 1997-2003.

Rising health costs and an aging population present critical policy challenges. This paper examines the financial burden of out-of-pocket health spending among Medicare beneficiaries between 1997 and 2003. Over this period, median out-of-pocket spending as a share of income increased from 11.

Status report on Medicare Part D enrollment in 2006: analysis of plan-specific market share and coverage.

The centerpiece of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 was the Part D drug benefit, provided through new stand-alone prescription drug plans (PDPs) and Medicare Advantage prescription drug (MA-PD) plans. We examine 2006 Part D enrollment data to analyze organization- and plan-level market share and enrollment by plan type, benefit design, and gap coverage. Ten organizations captured 72 percent of Part D enrollment, primarily in low-premium plans and those with name recognition.

Options for federal coverage of the uninsured in 2005.

Current approaches to reducing the number of uninsured include insurance tax credits for individuals and employers, expanding private group coverage, expanding eligibility for public programs, creating new public programs, and reforming insurance markets. Proposals vary in how they would expand coverage, how many uninsured would be covered, and how much they would cost. Although the costs of expanding coverage are significant, so are the costs of high uninsured rates.

Is incremental change working? Or is it time to reconsider universal coverage?

This Issue Brief was prepared for The Commonwealth Fund/John F. Kennedy School of Government Bipartisan Congressional Health Policy Conference, January 15-17, 2004.

Continuing policy issues in Medicare prescription drug coverage.

This Issue Brief was prepared for The Commonwealth Fund/John F. Kennedy School of Government Bipartisan Congressional Health Policy Conference, January 15-17, 2004.

Savings from drug discount cards: relief for Medicare beneficiaries?

Beginning in mid-2004, Medicare beneficiaries can enroll in prescription drug discount card programs approved by the federal government. We estimate modest savings for beneficiaries without drug coverage from existing drug discount card programs, with average savings of 17.4 percent over current retail prices.