Key Facts About Medicare Part D Enrollment and Costs in 2022 August 17, 2022 Issue Brief This analysis provides the latest data about Medicare Part D enrollment, premiums, and cost sharing in 2022 and trends over time, including information about stand-alone prescription drug plans (PDPs) and Medicare Advantage prescription drug plans.
The Biggest Health Care Reform in a Decade Could Lower Your Costs August 13, 2022 Perspective Larry Levitt writes about the political and practical impact of the health care provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act in The New York Times guest essay, “The Biggest Health Care Reform in a Decade Could Lower Your Costs.”
August 11 Web Event: Understanding the Health Care Provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act August 11, 2022 Event The Inflation Reduction Act includes several landmark health care provisions that would lower prescription drug costs for people with Medicare, reduce Medicare drug spending and extend enhanced subsidies for Affordable Care Act marketplace coverage. On Thursday, August 11, a panel of KFF experts held a web briefing to explain these…
Insulin Out-of-Pocket Costs in Medicare Part D July 28, 2022 Issue Brief Addressing the cost of insulin continues to be at the forefront of policy discussions around prescription drugs. This analysis describes out-of-pocket spending on insulin products by Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in Part D drug plans, along with state-level use and spending data.
How Would the Prescription Drug Provisions in the Senate Reconciliation Proposal Affect Medicare Beneficiaries? July 27, 2022 Issue Brief The brief provides a quick explainer of the prescription drug provisions in legislative text released by the Senate Finance Committee to be included in a forthcoming reconciliation bill and presents new estimates on how many Medicare beneficiaries could be helped by those provisions.
Traditional Medicare Spending Fell Almost 6% in 2020 as Service Use Declined Early in the COVID-19 Pandemic June 1, 2022 Issue Brief Total spending among traditional Medicare beneficiaries fell in 2020, the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, corresponding to lower service use across most types of Medicare-covered health care services compared to 2019. The lower spending in traditional Medicare contributed to the relatively slower growth in Medicare spending overall in 2020.
Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic, Medicare Spending on Skilled Nursing Facilities Increased More than 4% Despite an Overall Decline in Utilization June 1, 2022 Issue Brief Medicare spending for skilled nursing facilities increased in 2020 despite an overall decrease in the number of Medicare beneficiaries using SNF services. The higher spending is explained by longer and more expensive SNF stays in 2020 compared to 2019, both of which increased more sharply for Medicare beneficiaries under the age of 65 than for older Medicare SNF users.
May 23 Web Event: Executive Actions to Address Prescription Drug Affordability in the U.S. May 23, 2022 Event U.S. prescription drug spending per person is about double what it is in peer countries and about 8 in 10 U.S. adults say the cost of prescription drugs is unreasonable. With the public ranking lowering out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs the top health care priority for Congress, lawmakers have been…
FAQs on Medicare Coverage of Telehealth May 23, 2022 Issue Brief These FAQs provide answers to questions about Medicare’s current coverage of telehealth, changes made at the outset of the public health emergency, additional changes adopted by Congress and the Administration, and some of the policy considerations that lie ahead.
Examining Prior Authorization in Health Insurance May 20, 2022 Blog This post explains what’s known about how insurers use prior authorization as a tool to control costs and encourage cost-effective care, the state and federal laws that govern it, and ongoing policy debates over efforts to impose standards to limit or regulate its use.