Prescription Drug Costs and Coverage, Public Opinion, Research & Recent Legislation

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Prescription Drug Trends
Trend data for prescription drug coverage, expenditures, and the key factors that contribute to rising prescription spending.

Views On Prescription Drugs And The Pharmaceutical Industry
This spotlight compiles and analyzes public opinion data from Kaiser surveys and other sources on the public’s experiences with prescription drugs and perceptions of the pharmaceutical industry.

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Recent Documents: (242 results)

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Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Plan (PDP) Availability in 2010 -- February 2010
This fact sheet contains 2010 state-specific summary data about available Medicare drug benefit options, including the number of stand-alone plans with gap coverage in the "doughnut hole," and the number of plans available at no cost to qualifying beneficiaries.

Low-Income Assistance Under the Medicare Drug Benefit -- December 2009
This fact sheet provides an overview of the Medicare drug benefit and the additional subsidies available to certain eligible low-income beneficiaries.

Snapshots: Wages & Benefits: A Long-Term View -- November 2009
This new analysis examines changes in wages and benefits since the 1960s, and how these break down over time for employers and individuals. It finds that working families may feel the impact of rising health care costs by seeing smaller increases in their paychecks. This snapshot is part of the Foundation’s online series, Snapshots: Health Care Costs.

The Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit - An Updated Fact Sheet -- November 2009
This updated fact sheet includes the latest information and data about the Medicare Drug Benefit, including a breakdown of the standard benefit, enrollment data and an update on additional low-income assistance.

Explaining Health Care Reform: What is Comparative Effectiveness Research? -- October 2009
The brief examines current funding for comparative effectiveness research, the provisions included in the current health reform legislation, and issues related to which treatments that might be studied, whether and how to weigh costs of care, and how such findings will be used and shared with health-care practitioners and the public.

2009 Kaiser/HRET Employer Health Benefit Survey -- September 2009
This benchmark annual survey of employers provides a detailed look at trends in employer-sponsored health coverage, including changes in premiums, employee contributions, cost-sharing policies and other relevant information.

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.

Medicare Part D 2009 Data Spotlight: Ten Most Common Brand-Name Drugs -- June 2009
This Data Spotlight focuses on Part D plan coverage of the ten brand-name drugs that were most commonly prescribed for Medicare beneficiaries in 2006 and lack generic equivalents in 2009.

Medicare Spending and Financing Fact Sheet -- May 2009
This updated fact sheet provides an overview of spending on the Medicare program, how the program is financed, and Medicare’s future financial outlook. It includes the latest available data on Medicare financing.

Pulling it Together: About Kaiser Health News -- May 2009
In his latest essay for "Pulling It Together, From Drew Altman," the Foundation's President and CEO discusses the motivation behind launching Kaiser Health News, a new nonprofit health policy news service.

This fact sheet contains 2010 state-specific summary data about available Medicare drug benefit options, including the number of stand-alone plans with gap coverage in the "doughnut hole," and the number of plans available at no cost to qualifying beneficiaries.

This fact sheet provides an overview of the Medicare drug benefit and the additional subsidies available to certain eligible low-income beneficiaries.

This new analysis examines changes in wages and benefits since the 1960s, and how these break down over time for employers and individuals. It finds that working families may feel the impact of rising health care costs by seeing smaller increases in their paychecks. This snapshot is part of the Foundation’s online series, Snapshots: Health Care Costs.

This updated fact sheet includes the latest information and data about the Medicare Drug Benefit, including a breakdown of the standard benefit, enrollment data and an update on additional low-income assistance.

The brief examines current funding for comparative effectiveness research, the provisions included in the current health reform legislation, and issues related to which treatments that might be studied, whether and how to weigh costs of care, and how such findings will be used and shared with health-care practitioners and the public.

This benchmark annual survey of employers provides a detailed look at trends in employer-sponsored health coverage, including changes in premiums, employee contributions, cost-sharing policies and other relevant information.

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 Data Spotlight focuses on Part D plan coverage of the ten brand-name drugs that were most commonly prescribed for Medicare beneficiaries in 2006 and lack generic equivalents in 2009.

This updated fact sheet provides an overview of spending on the Medicare program, how the program is financed, and Medicare’s future financial outlook. It includes the latest available data on Medicare financing.

In his latest essay for "Pulling It Together, From Drew Altman," the Foundation's President and CEO discusses the motivation behind launching Kaiser Health News, a new nonprofit health policy news service.

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Prescription Drugs

Prescription drugs have grown to become an essential component of health care. For millions of Americans, prescription therapies are necessary to their health and ability to function in society. While prescriptions are a relatively small share of overall health spending (11%), they are a key driver of health spending trends, growing almost twice as fast all other health services in recent years.

Public attention has focused on prescription drugs and on the pharmaceutical industry because of the very rapid growth of drug costs and because a significant portion of the population lacks insurance to cover the costs of the drugs they need. Older Americans, who use a disproportionate share of prescription drugs, are less likely to have coverage than younger people because Medicare generally does not cover outpatient pharmaceutical costs. Higher drug costs are placing a stress in public and private insurance programs, and are an important component of the recent growth in state Medicaid spending. Methods of controlling prescription costs (such formularies, requiring generic rather than brand name drugs, tiered copayments) are being used, and their impact on costs and consumers studied. Many of these prescription issues are being examined as policymakers explore options for expanding Medicare’s coverage to include outpatient drugs.

The Foundation’s work on the topic of prescription drugs cuts across private sector, Medicare, and Medicaid program areas. Basic information about the market for prescription drugs, including data on costs and coverage, is provided in chartbooks and factsheets. Surveys and reports look at the issues surrounding adding a prescription drug benefit to Medicare; recent legislation on this topic is summarized and explained as well. Recent state efforts to modify their Medicaid prescription programs and pharmaceutical assistance programs are discussed in several reports and fact sheets. The issue of drug promotion by drug manufacturers is also analyzed in a series of reports. The Foundation’s web site for in-depth coverage of health policy news (www.kaisernetwork.org) provides an Issue Spotlight on prescription drugs. The Foundation’s State Health Facts Online website (www.statehealthfacts.kff.org) provides state data on prescription use, sales, and average prices.