Medicare Part D and Switching Costs
It’s decision time for Medicare Part D purchasers. Seniors have until December 31st to make their Part D choice and this decision is not a painless one. The Marketplace Money radio program recently...
View ArticleTake-up of Medicare Part D
Using data from the 2004 and 2006 Health and Retirement Survey (HRS), Levy and Weir (2009) analyze the take up of Medicare Part D after its enactment on Jan 1, 2006. They find that in 2006 only 7% of...
View ArticleMedicare Reimbursement Information II
I will continue reviewing some Medicare reimbursement information as described in a variety of MedPAC reports. Medicare Advantage Medicare Advantage is a program where Medicare beneficiaries can...
View ArticleGetting Poor/Old People Drug Coverage: Part I
Health insurers face a conundrum. Increased cost sharing helps to reduce patient utilization of medical resources and–at least inititally–lowers the cost of care. Too much cost sharing, however, can...
View ArticleGetting Poor/Old People Drug Coverage: Part II
Yesterday, I mentioned that low-income individuals on Medicare can also qualify for Medicaid and, as full-beneift dual eligible beneficiaries, they have significantly lower cost sharing than the...
View Article2016 ASSA: How does consumer inattention affect pricing?
Why do Medicare patients choose to stay in their current Part D prescription drug plan or switch to another? Are they rational actors maximizing their their financial benefit or do other factors play a...
View ArticlePart D prior authorization and cost sharing rise for MS treatments
If you have multiple sclerosis, effective disease modifying therapies (DMTs), can help to reduce relapse rates and slow disease progression. That is, if you can get access to them. A paper by Hartung...
View ArticleMedicare Part D: Do beneficiaries shop for high-value plans?
Medicare Part D covers prescription drugs for largely elderly Americans in the U.S. Those who qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid receive Part D drug coverage with no premiums and reduced...
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Do most Medicare Part D drugs have CEA studies?
That is the question that a recent study by Tisdale et al. (2021) aim to answer. They first look at the top 250 Medicare Part D drugs in terms 2016 total spending based on the 2016 Medicare Part D...
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Financial hardship to afford prescription drugs over time: Evidence from...
In the past, seniors in Medicare had to pay for all their prescription drugs out-of-pocket. For elderly individuals with multiple medical conditions, this lack of coverage was highly burdensome. To...
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How did closing the Part D coverage gap impact utilization and out-of-pocket...
Medicare Part D has had a very odd benefit structure. First, you have a deductible with no coverage; then you get some coverage, then there is a coverage gap or “donut hole” with no coverage and...
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Impact of Medicare Part D on net drug prices
When you buy a car, there is the sticker price and what you actually paid after haggling with the dealer over discounts. For pharmaceuticals, the media typically reports on list prices which are...
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Estimated impact of IRA on Medicare beneficiary out-of-pocket expenses
ASPE has a report out on the potential impact of the Inflation Reduction Act on Medicare Part D beneficiary out-of-pocket spending. This is a particularly relevant topic as the share of patients who...
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On which drugs does Medicare spend the most?
The Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) identifies the Part D drugs on which Medicare spends the most money. This is an important question since CMS will begin drug price negotiation under the Inflation...
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