Medicare

This Medicare Part D data spotlight analyzes the premiums charged by the 1,689 stand-alone Medicare Part D plans that will be offered in markets across the country in 2009. The analysis finds premiums charged for Part D plans range widely, from $10.30 per month to $136.80 per month. If current…

Health care remains among the top three election issues voters want to hear the presidential candidates discuss. Kaiser’s new series of election briefs frame the challenges the heath care system faces, provide basic facts, and offer questions to assess the presidential candidates’ plans on key health policy issues. Check back…

Download PDF Issue Medicare is a valuable source of health insurance for nearly 45 million Americans – mainly seniors ages 65 and older, but also 7 million younger adults with permanent disabilities.  Before Medicare was signed into law in 1965, about half of all seniors lacked hospital insurance.  Today, virtually…

This policy brief, prepared for the Kaiser Family Foundation by Vicky Gottlich at the Center for Medicare Advocacy, explains the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ legal authority to regulate advertising and other information issued by the private companies that contract with the government to provide Medicare benefits. The brief…

As the marketing period for 2009 Medicare plans nears, the Kaiser Family Foundation Kaiser Family Foundation issued a report analyzing the content and frequency of television, print and radio advertisement for private Medicare plans that ran nationally or in one of three local media markets (Miami/Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; Phoenix, Ariz.;…

This study quantifies the number of Medicare Part D plan enrollees in 2007 who reached a gap in their prescription drug coverage known as the “doughnut hole,” as well as the changes in beneficiaries’ use of medications and out-of-pocket spending after they reached that gap.

Medicare Advantage plans enrolled a record 9.8 million beneficiaries, more than one in five of the nation’s 44 million people on Medicare as of April 2008. That represents an increase of more than 800,000 beneficiaries in just four months, continuing a period of unprecedented growth for private plans in Medicare…

2008 Medicare Benefits TableSummary of Traditional Medicare, 2008 PART A Financing: 1.45% for both workers and employers No premiums* Benefits: Inpatient hospital – Days 1-60 – Days 61-90 – Days 91-150 – After 150 days Deductible of $1,024 per benefit period** No coinsurance $256 a day $512 a day No…

This synthesis of key findings from analysis presented in a series of eight Medicare Part D 2008 Data Spotlights describes key features of stand-alone prescription drug plans offered in 2008 and trends since 2006. The synthesis covers a range of topics, including premiums, the coverage gap, benefit design, cost sharing,…

This Medicare Part D Data Spotlight focuses on the availability of drug plans for beneficiaries receiving the Part D low-income subsidy in 2008 and changes since 2006. It looks at data from the 47 stand-alone prescription drug plans available nationwide in 2008. This is one in a series analyzing key…