Medicare Part D 2008 Data Spotlight: Formularies

This Medicare Part D data spotlight examines the formularies (list of covered drugs) of Medicare stand-alone prescription drug plans in 2008, changes since 2006, and differences in how plans cover brand-name and generic drugs. This is one in a series analyzing key aspects of the 2008 Medicare Part D prescription drug plan choices.

It analyzes data from the 47 stand-alone prescription drug plans available nationwide using a sample of commonly-used and high-cost prescription drugs. The analysis finds that there has been relative stability in the coverage of sample drugs since 2006. It also finds that most drug plans (91 percent) cover more than 90 percent of the generic sample drugs, while only 28 percent of plans cover more than 90 percent of brand-name sample drugs.

The analysis was conducted jointed by Jack Hoadley of Georgetown University, Elizabeth Hargrave and Katie Merrell of NORC at the University of Chicago, and Juliette Cubanski and Tricia Neuman of the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Data Spotlight (.pdf)