Prescription Drugs

The Latest

Families USA endorses the Physician Payments Sunshine Act (S. 301) February 2009 – The Physician Payments Sunshine Act requires drug and medical device manufacturers to publicly disclose certain gifts and payments made to physicians. More information about the act and the National Coalition for Appropriate Prescribing is available online at http://www.prescriptionproject.org/sunshine_act.

From Families USA:

10 Reasons to Support the Health Care Reform Bills provides a quick rundown of the most exciting provisions in the health reform bills pending in Congress, including provisions that will help middle-class and low-income families, small businesses, and seniors and people with disabilities. (July 2009)

Key Priorities to Help Low-Income Medicare Beneficiaries discusses three actions Congress should take to improve the Medicare Savings Programs (MSPs) and the Part D Low-Income Subsidy (LIS) as part of health reform. (May 2009)
 
Medicare: Helping Low-Income Seniors and People with Disabilities examines the high out-of-pocket costs Medicare beneficiaries face and how health reform should improve existing programs that help them afford these costs. (May 2009)

From Health Affairs

How Medicare Could Get Better Prices on Prescription Drugs examines federal spending for Medicare Part D plans under the current “noninterference” provision that prevents the government from negotiating prescription drug prices on behalf of enrollees. The report compares and assesses several options for reforming this system, including adopting a system of rebates similar to those used by state Medicaid programs, expanding the use of generic drugs, and other options that may reduce federal spending without requiring price negotiations. (July 2009) Subscription Required

From the Kaiser Family Foundation:

Medicare Prescription Drug Plans in 2009 and Key Changes since 2006: Summary of Findings includes data on the number of drug plans available, premium increases, and the coverage gap (the “doughnut hole”). The brief also addresses cost-sharing as a part of benefit design, as well as the specialty tier most Part D plans use to cover high-cost medications. (June 2009)

From the New England Journal of Medicine

Medicare Part D Update—Lessons Learned and Unfinished Business examines the effects of Part D on drug coverage, access to medications, out-of-pocket spending, and overall Medicare spending. More seniors are now covered by a Medicare drug plan and report greater savings, but gaps in coverage and other problems still persist. Seniors now have dozens of Medicare drug plans to chose from, but they do not always pick the cheapest plan. (July 2009)