Medicare: Low Income Beneficiaries - Kaiser Family Foundation

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Medicare: Low Income Beneficiaries

Reports Analyze Cost and Coverage of People Eligible for Both Medicaid and Medicare and Options for Reforming Financing of Their Care
Two reports examine coverage of the nearly 9 million “dual eligibles” and explore the national and state impacts of shifting the financing of selected services for this population from Medicaid to Medicare.

Health Care on a Budget: An Analysis of Spending by Medicare Households
This report finds that Medicare beneficiaries’ out-of-pocket health care costs comprise a significant share of their household expenses — 14.1 percent of all expenditures, which is less than housing but about the same as transportation and food.

Recent Documents: (179 results)

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Medicare Part D Spotlight: Part D Plan Availability in 2010 and Key Changes Since 2006 -- November 2009
This initial analysis examines the stand-alone Medicare drug plan options that will be available to beneficiaries in 2010, including the number of available, premiums for those plans, and benefit designs.

Side-by-Side Comparison of Key Medicare Provisions in 2009 Health Reform Legislation -- November 2009
This brief describes the major Medicare provisions relating to benefit changes, Medicare Advantage, the Medicare prescription drug benefit, physician and other provider payment reforms, and other health system reforms in the Senate Finance proposal and the House Tri-Committee bill.

The Social Security COLA and Medicare Part B Premium: Questions, Answers, and Issues -- October 2009
This brief explains how the lack of a cost-of-living increase for Social Security recipients in 2010, and no or low increases through 2012, will affect beneficiaries' monthly premiums for Medicare Part B, as well as the implications for the Medicare and Medicaid programs.

Examining Sources of Supplemental Insurance and Prescription Drug Coverage Among Medicare Beneficiaries: Findings from the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey, 2007 -- August 2009
This chartpack presents new information on the sources of supplemental and prescription drug coverage among Medicare beneficiaries in 2007, the most recent year for which national data are available.

Health Reform Opportunities: Improving Policy for Dual Eligibles -- August 2009
This brief provides an overview of opportunities under health reform to realign federal and state policy for the dual eligibles to promote a more rational, cost-efficient system for 9 million of the poorest, sickest and highest-cost people covered by both Medicaid and Medicare.

Medicare Part D Update – Lessons Learned and Unfinished Businesses -- July 2009
This analysis by Kaiser researchers examines in detail how the Medicare Part D model has worked since its launch in 2006. It was published in the New England Journal of Medicine on July 23, 2009.

Tutorial: Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit -- June 2009

This tutorial provides an overview of the Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit, which was added to Medicare through the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 and implemented in 2006.

Tutorial: Medicare 101 -- June 2009

This tutorial provides a basic overview of the Medicare program.

Medicare Prescription Drug Plans in 2009 and Key Changes Since 2006: Summary of Findings -- June 2009
This report summarizes findings from a series of Medicare Part D 2009 Data Spotlights documenting changes in drug coverage and costs since 2006 and finds, in many ways, beneficiaries over time are paying more for less generous benefits.

Where Does the Burden Lie?: Medicaid and Medicare Spending for Dual Eligible Beneficiaries -- April 2009

This issue brief analyzes the demographic and health characteristics of people who are simultaneously eligible for Medicaid and Medicare, as well as their patterns of service utilization and spending under both programs.

This initial analysis examines the stand-alone Medicare drug plan options that will be available to beneficiaries in 2010, including the number of available, premiums for those plans, and benefit designs.

This brief describes the major Medicare provisions relating to benefit changes, Medicare Advantage, the Medicare prescription drug benefit, physician and other provider payment reforms, and other health system reforms in the Senate Finance proposal and the House Tri-Committee bill.

This brief explains how the lack of a cost-of-living increase for Social Security recipients in 2010, and no or low increases through 2012, will affect beneficiaries' monthly premiums for Medicare Part B, as well as the implications for the Medicare and Medicaid programs.

This chartpack presents new information on the sources of supplemental and prescription drug coverage among Medicare beneficiaries in 2007, the most recent year for which national data are available.

This brief provides an overview of opportunities under health reform to realign federal and state policy for the dual eligibles to promote a more rational, cost-efficient system for 9 million of the poorest, sickest and highest-cost people covered by both Medicaid and Medicare.

This analysis by Kaiser researchers examines in detail how the Medicare Part D model has worked since its launch in 2006. It was published in the New England Journal of Medicine on July 23, 2009.

This tutorial provides an overview of the Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit, which was added to Medicare through the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 and implemented in 2006.

This tutorial provides a basic overview of the Medicare program.

This report summarizes findings from a series of Medicare Part D 2009 Data Spotlights documenting changes in drug coverage and costs since 2006 and finds, in many ways, beneficiaries over time are paying more for less generous benefits.

This issue brief analyzes the demographic and health characteristics of people who are simultaneously eligible for Medicaid and Medicare, as well as their patterns of service utilization and spending under both programs.

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Medicare: Low Income Beneficiaries

Though Medicare coverage is vital to the 45 million elderly persons and individuals with disabilities enrolled in the program, the requirement that beneficiaries contribute to the cost of their care through premiums and coinsurance can impose a significant burden on low-income individuals. The poorest Medicare beneficiaries are eligible for protection from these medical expenses through the Medicaid program, but many persons living just below or above the poverty level are not eligible for full Medicaid assistance and cannot afford private supplemental insurance to help cover these costs. The Medicare Savings Programs are designed to assist these low-income Medicare beneficiaries with the cost of Medicare premiums and coinsurance by paying all or some of these costs. Individuals with modest incomes and assets may also qualify for additional assistance with Medicare Part D prescription drug plan premiums and cost-sharing requirements.