Medicare Drug Law Materials for Advocates and Consumers

Families USA launched an educational campaign on the new drug law in March 2004 called the Medicare Road Show (click here for more information on the campaign).

The following materials are from the Road Show Kit:

• Q&A: Understanding the New Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit : Answers to basic questions about the new drug benefit, including what beneficiaries will have to pay out of pocket, how to sign up for the new benefit, and whether a plan will be available in all areas. | en Español (updated March 2005)
• The New Medicare Drug Benefit: How Much Will You Pay?: Tables detail the basic benefit as well as the low-income benefit for those who are and aren't enrolled in Medicaid. (updated March 2007)
• Your Medicare Drug Bill: What It Looks Like in the Future: Tables show how out-of-pocket costs under the new Medicare drug law will increase from 2006 to 2013. (Spring 2004)
• The Medicare Prescription Drug Discount Card: This Q & A answers such basic questions as how beneficiaries can get the new card, what drugs will be discounted, and how potential enrollees can compare cards before making a final choice. It also discusses the low-income assistance provided under the card program. (Spring 2004)
• Worksheet for Medicare's Basic Drug Benefit: This companion to our Medicare Calculator takes beneficiaries through a step-by-step process to estimate their out-of-pocket drug costs when the program begins in 2006. (Spring 2004)
• Extra Help for Your Drug Costs: Do You Qualify?: This piece helps low-income beneficiaries determine whether they will be able to receive extra help with drug costs under the new law whether they are or are not also enrolled in Medicaid (updated March 2007).
• The New Medicare Drug Benefit: An Illustration: This graphic walks beneficiaries through the various components of the new drug benefit, including the coverage gap -- or "doughnut hole" -- and out-of-pocket costs. (updated January 2007)
• Will You Be Eligible for Low-Income Assistance in 2006? A Decision Tree Chart: A flow chart that can help beneficiaries sort out the confusing eligibility requirements for different levels of low-income assistance. (updated March 2007)

Other Materials on the Drug Benefit from Families USA:

• Gearing Up: States Face the New Medicare Law Is Your State Ready for 2006? An Introduction to What the New Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Benefit Means for Medicaid (September 2004) 
• Another Hole in the Medicare Drug Benefit: This piece examines two provisions in the new law that put giant holes in any effort to contain rising drug costs-the law prohibits the federal government from negotiating for lower drug prices, and it does not allow reimportation of drugs from other countries. (March 2004)
• Looking at the Future -- Under the New Prescription Drug Benefit: Coping with the New Privatized Medicare: A satiric piece featuring a conversation between Larry and Heloise as they try to figure out which Medicare plan is best for them. (March 2004)
• Winners & Losers: Who Gets What under the Medicare Drug Benefit: A quick look at how the drug industry, pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), private insurance companies, seniors, and low-income beneficiaries fare under the new Medicare drug law. (March 2004)
• Your Budget and the New Medicare Drug Benefit: These tables show how the new Medicare drug law will affect the budgets of typical seniors in 2006 and 2013. (March 2004)
• The New Medicare Prescription Drug Discount Card: A Very Flawed Program: This piece discusses four fundamental flaws in the discount card program that could cost beneficiaries a substantial amount of money.