Medicare Prescription Drug Plans in 2009 and Key Changes Since 2006: Summary of Findings

Since 2006, Medicare beneficiaries have had access to prescription drug coverage offered by private plans, either stand-alone prescription drug plans (PDPs) or Medicare Advantage prescription drug plans (MA-PD plans). Today, more than 26 million Medicare beneficiaries are enrolled in Medicare drug plans, including 17.5 million in stand-alone prescription drug plans and 9 million in Medicare Advantage drug plans.

This report summarizes findings from a series of Medicare Part D 2009 Data Spotlights documenting changes in drug coverage and costs since 2006. It presents key findings related to Medicare drug plan premiums, the coverage gap, benefit design and cost sharing, the specialty tier, formularies, and utilization management, based on data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) for all plans participating in Part D. The analysis was conducted jointed by Jack Hoadley of Georgetown University, Elizabeth Hargrave of NORC at the University of Chicago, and Juliette Cubanski and Tricia Neuman of the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Issue Brief (.pdf)