Do We Know If Medicare Advantage Special Needs Plans Are Special? January 1, 2008 Report This report describes the history of special needs plans, how they fit into the larger Medicare Advantage marketplace, and what information could help assess whether these plans are performing differently from other Medicare Advantage plans. Special needs plans serve individuals such as those who are institutionalized, people covered under both…
Medicare Part D 2008 Data Spotlight: Benefit Design November 30, 2007 Issue Brief This Medicare Part D data spotlight examines the benefit design of Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Plans (PDP) in 2008, focusing on national plans. It shows that in 2008, as in previous years, only about 10 percent of national prescription drug plans offered the defined standard benefit. The spotlight also…
Medicare Part D 2008 Data Spotlights November 30, 2007 Issue Brief To better understand changes in the private plans providing drug coverage to Medicare beneficiaries under the program's Part D benefit, the Kaiser Family Foundation is issuing a series of data spotlights analyzing key elements of Medicare's private drug plans. Each spotlight will focus on a key aspect of the drug…
Medicare Part D 2008 Data Spotlight: Specialty Tiers November 30, 2007 Issue Brief This Medicare Part D data spotlight focuses on the use of specialty tiers for high-cost and injectible drugs in Medicare Prescription Drug Plans in 2008. It finds that the number of plans with specialty tiers has nearly doubled since 2006. It also looks at the drugs assigned to specialty tiers,…
Nursing Home Reform: Then and Now November 29, 2007 Video To mark the 20th anniversary of the passage of landmark federal legislation to improve the quality of nursing home care, the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987 (known as OBRA 87), this video examines the history surrounding the law. The video includes a look at the state of nursing home…
New Resources and Briefing Explore Nursing Home Reform Twenty Years After Passage of Landmark Law November 29, 2007 Event To mark the 20th anniversary of the passage of landmark federal legislation to improve the quality of nursing home care, the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987 (known as OBRA 87), the Kaiser Family Foundation released new resources and cosponsored a Washington, D.C. briefing. Among the resources released were new…
Nursing Home Care Quality: Twenty Years After the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987 November 29, 2007 Report Nursing Home Care Quality: Twenty Years After the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987To mark the 20th anniversary of the passage of landmark federal legislation to improve the quality of nursing home care, the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987 (known as OBRA '87), this report explains the key provisions…
Medicare Part D 2008 Data Spotlight: The Coverage Gap October 30, 2007 Issue Brief This Medicare Part D data spotlight examines the coverage gap, or “doughnut hole,” in Medicare drug plans available in 2008. Part D enrollees (other than those receiving low-income subsidies) will reach the coverage gap after they incur $2,510 in total drug costs in 2008. At that point, enrollees are required…
Medicare Part D 2008 Data Spotlight: Premiums October 30, 2007 Issue Brief This Medicare Part D data spotlight analyzes the premiums charged by the 1,824 stand-alone Medicare Part D plans that will be offered in markets across the country in 2008. The analysis finds premiums charged for Part D plans range widely, from $9.80 per month to $107.50 per month. The average…
Overview of Medicare Part D Organizations, Plans and Benefits By Enrollment in 2006 and 2007 October 30, 2007 Report This chartpack provides detailed information about Medicare beneficiaries’ enrollment in the many private drug plans available to them in 2007. The charts demonstrate that a relatively small number of companies which captured the most enrollees in 2006, the new benefit’s first year, continued to lead in market share in the…