Medicare Advantage

, details the different types of private plan options available to people on Medicare. These include Medicare Advantage plans (such as Medicare HMOs, PPOs and private fee-for-service plans) and new stand-alone prescription drug plans.• In 2006, all Medicare beneficiaries have access to at least one type of private Medicare Advantage…

These two issue briefs describe the different types of private plan options available to people on Medicare, identify key characteristics of the organizations offering the new Medicare drug benefit, and analyze how companies are positioning themselves to attract Medicare enrollees.The Growth of Private Plans in Medicare, 2006The Landscape of Private…

In a few short weeks, Medicare will undergo big changes that will have a major impact on more than 3 million Hispanic seniors and younger people with permanent disabilities who rely on Medicare for their health coverage. More than one in three Hispanics with Medicare lack coverage for their prescription…

An estimated 200,000 Medicare beneficiaries were displaced by Hurricane Katrina. Medicare played a key role in meeting the health care needs of the elderly and disabled beneficiaries who were displaced by the hurricane. Many of these beneficiaries face new challenges as a direct result of the hurricane. This issue brief…

Key Implementation Dates for the Medicare Prescription Drug BenefitThis timeline presents important dates and deadlines of key implementation activities related to the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA). It runs from the beginning of 2005 through the end of 2006, the first year of the new…

This study assesses the impact of the requirement that low-income people with Medicare meet an asset test in order to receive additional help paying premiums and cost-sharing under the new Medicare drug benefit.Report (.pdf)American Journal of Managed Care Article: Who Will Be Denied Medicare Prescription Drug Subsidies Because of the…

This issue brief examines the 26 new Medicare Advantage PPO regions and their implications for beneficiaries. The paper describes the characteristics of the new Medicare Advantage regions and the extent to which Medicare Advantage plans are already available in each region. It highlights the substantial gap between the current availability…

This document summarizes the final regulations to implement the new Medicare prescription drug benefit. The regulations were published by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) as a final rule in the Jan. 28 Federal Register. It provides an overview that allows interested parties to obtain information about specific…

In August 2004, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services published a proposed rule to implement the Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit (Title I of the Medicare Modernization Act). Given the high level of interest in the proposed rules for implementing the Medicare drug benefit, the Kaiser Family Foundation commissioned Health…

This report projects the impact of the new Medicare drug benefit on out-of-pocket spending for people who enroll in 2006. The analysis is based on a model developed by the Actuarial Research Corporation for the Kaiser Family Foundation. The model generally conforms to the Congressional Budget Office’s assumptions and projections…