Articles Examine Data and Issues For Expanding Integrated Care Models For Dual-Eligible Beneficiaries June 1, 2012 Report As state and federal policymakers move to develop and test integrated care models for people dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid, two new Kaiser Family Foundation articles in the June 2012 issue of Health Affairs highlight the diverse needs and challenges facing these 9 million beneficiaries, describe their current care…
Pulling it Together: Duals: The National Health Reform Experiment We Should Be talking More About June 1, 2012 Perspective The Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and 26 states are moving to launch a large scale managed care demonstration project potentially involving millions of the poorest, sickest, most expensive Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, the so-called dual eligibles. The experiment is getting more and more attention from policy experts,…
Medicare Advantage 2012 Data Spotlight: Enrollment Market Update May 31, 2012 Report This data spotlight examines the growth in private Medicare Advantage plan enrollment in 2012, with a record 13 million Medicare beneficiaries enrolled as of March, representing 27 percent of all Medicare beneficiaries. Enrollment jumped by more than 1 million enrollees from the previous year and increased in every state except…
Medicare Advantage 2012 Data Spotlights May 31, 2012 Report The Kaiser Family Foundation has issued a series of data spotlights and examining the Medicare Advantage plan options available in 2012 and trends affecting the Medicare Advantage marketplace. These analyses were prepared by researchers at Mathematica Policy Research Inc. and the Kaiser Family Foundation. Plan Availability and Premiums Enrollment Market…
Cost and Access Challenges: A Comparison of Experiences Between Uninsured and Privately Insured Adults Aged 55 to 64 with Seniors on Medicare May 30, 2012 Report This analysis looks at the difficulties uninsured people ages 55-64 have accessing and affording health care in 2010. Four in 10 of these near-seniors report having unmet health care needs or delaying treatment, while three in 10 uninsured near-seniors lived in families reporting problems paying their medical bills largely due…
The Part D Experience: What are the Lessons for Broader Medicare Reform? May 30, 2012 Event Launched in 2006, Medicare added a prescription drug benefit that relies entirely on private plans, while, for other benefits, beneficiaries have a choice between private health plans and traditional fee-for-service Medicare. As policymakers consider changes to Medicare that would give an even greater role to private health plans in caring…
Prescription Drug Procurement and the Federal Budget May 8, 2012 Issue Brief This brief commissioned by the Foundation considers areas where Medicare faces limited opportunity for market-based competition and price negotiation to drive down drug spending. These areas include drug purchasing for low-income people enrolled in Part D plans who face minimal cost-sharing requirements, and purchasing certain unique drugs, such as biologicals,…
Medicare Part D Spending Trends: Understanding Key Drivers and the Role of Competition May 8, 2012 Issue Brief This brief commissioned by the Foundation examines factors that contributed to Medicare’s lower-than-expected spending on prescription drugs under the Medicare Part D drug benefit that started in 2006. Since its launch, Medicare has spent about 30 percent less on Part D benefits than the Congressional Budget Office originally projected. Some…
Federal Funding Under the Affordable Care Act April 12, 2012 Fact Sheet This fact sheet provides highlights from an analysis tracking the flow of federal Affordable Care Act funds to states as reporter in the Department of Health and Human Services grant database as well as periodic reports from HHS and the Internal Revenue Service. The analysis distinguishes between funds awarded to…
The Role of High-Income Seniors in Medicare Reforms: The Public’s Perspective April 9, 2012 Poll Finding Medicare remains in the spotlight as policymakers and presidential candidates look for ways to rein in Medicare spending. One facet of the debate has centered on whether seniors with higher incomes should pay more for their coverage under Medicare. Based on data from the February 2012 Health Tracking Poll, this…