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Medicare Drug Program News
Medicare Says Projected Cost of Part D Drug Program
Continues to Drop
Survey finds 85% were aware of open enrollment
period, over 66% reviewed their current plan for cost and coverage
changes
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25.4 million
in Part D |
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Overall, about 90 percent of the nation’s
44 million Medicare beneficiaries have drug coverage from
Medicare or another source.
Approximately 25.4 million are enrolled
in Part D; 6.6 million retirees are enrolled in employer or
union-sponsored retiree drug coverage that receives the Retiree
Drug Subsidy (RDS); and 7.5 million are receiving drug coverage
from other alternative creditable sources such as TRICARE; the
Federal Employees Health Benefits Program; the Department of
Veterans’ Affairs or from their current employers.
Click here to National and State enrollment data |
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Jan. 31, 2008 – Medicare today issued another news
release touting the drop in the cost of the prescription drug program
from what it had earlier projected. The release said the “projected cost
of providing Medicare beneficiaries with a prescription drug benefit
through private health plans has come down again,” and cited the
administration’s FY 2009 budget, which will be released next week, as
the source.
The release said the drop in estimated cost is the
results of “continuing a solid record of strong competition and wise
beneficiary choice.”
The overall projected cost of the drug benefit is
$117 billion lower over the next ten years than was estimated last
summer due to the slowing of drug cost trends, lower estimates of plan
spending and higher rebates from drug manufacturers.
Compared to original Medicare Modernization Act (MMA)
projections, the net Medicare cost of the new drug benefit is $243.7
billion (or 38.5 percent) lower over the ten- year period (2004-2013)
used to score the MMA.
Moreover, following the third open enrollment
season for the prescription drug program, there are 1.5 million more
enrollees in Part D, bringing the total number of beneficiaries enrolled
in Part D to 25.4 million. The total number of Medicare beneficiaries
with drug coverage is now about 39.5 million. In addition, seniors
enrolled in the prescription drug program are extremely satisfied.
Recent independent surveys indicate that beneficiaries’ satisfaction
with the Part D benefit is at more than 85 percent.
“As we enter the third year, Medicare’s
prescription drug benefit is proving a resounding success,” said U.S.
Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt.
“Enrollment continues to rise, customer
satisfaction remains very high, and costs for beneficiaries and
taxpayers are considerably lower than original projections.”
Noting the enrollment of 250,000 additional
beneficiaries who are eligible for extra help through the Low-Income
Subsidy (LIS) program, Kerry Weems, acting administrator for the Centers
for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) noted, “Medicare’s Part D
prescription drug program is becoming a stable and familiar part of the
nation’s health care landscape.
“At the same time, we remain committed to finding
and enrolling people eligible for the low income subsidy and will
continue to work with partners throughout 2008 to encourage eligible
beneficiaries to apply for the subsidy. Moreover, LIS eligible
beneficiaries can enroll in a Medicare drug plan at any time throughout
the year and not wait until the next open enrollment period, nor incur a
late enrollment penalty.”
Tracking surveys that CMS conducted in January on
Medicare’s outreach activities and further development of the Agency’s
plan compare tools indicated these efforts were successful. Results from
the survey indicate that 85 percent of people with Medicare were aware
of the open enrollment period and over two-thirds reviewed their current
plan for cost and coverage changes.
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Medicare
Advantage Last Day of Open Enrollment |
|
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 Enrollment
is still open for Medicare Advantage plans only.
Beneficiaries can make one change in enrollment - enrolling in a
new plan, changing plans or canceling a plan - between January 1
and March 31, 2008. |
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1-800-MEDICARE received over 4 million calls during
the Nov 15 – Dec 31, 2007, open enrollment period, an 11 percent
increase from the comparable period in 2006. At the same time, online
enrollments totaled more than half a million enrollments, a 49 percent
increase over the number who enrolled online during the fall 2006.
“People with Medicare are increasingly
knowledgeable about the prescription drug benefit, and they used the
information and resources provided by CMS to compare the available
plans,” Weems said. “As informed consumers, many beneficiaries decided
to remain with their current plan, but others took this opportunity to
enroll in a different plan that, in their judgment, better meets their
needs in 2008.”
CMS’ data indicate that in 2008 about 3.1 million
Part D enrollees, or 12 percent, changed plans. Of those who changed,
2.1 million were beneficiaries receiving the low-income subsidy (LIS)
who were reassigned so they would not have to pay a premium. About six
percent of all non-LIS beneficiaries who are enrolled in Part D made a
change, a level that is consistent with changes made during health
coverage open enrollment periods in the private sector.
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Total Medicare
Beneficiaries with Prescription Drug Coverage |
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As of January, 2008 |
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Description |
Beneficiaries
with
Drug Coverage |
|
|
(millions) |
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Medicare
Beneficiaries Eligible for Part D |
44.20 |
|
|
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Medicare
Part D |
25.40 |
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Medicare
Stand Alone Drug Coverage (Part D) |
17.39 |
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Medicare
Advantage with Drug Coverage (Part D) |
7.63 |
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Other
Medicare health plan types |
0.38 |
|
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|
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Medicare
Retiree Drug Subsidy (RDS) |
6.66 |
|
|
|
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Other Drug
Coverage |
7.53 |
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TRICARE
Retiree Coverage |
0.90 |
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FEHBP
Retiree Coverage |
1.05 |
|
Veterans
Affairs (VA) Coverage |
1.59 |
|
Active
Workers with Medicare Secondary Payer |
1.20 |
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Multiple
sources of creditable coverage# |
0.69 |
|
Other
Retiree Coverage, Not Enrolled in RDS * |
1.54 |
|
Medigap
and other individual insurance* |
0.21 |
|
State
Pharmaceutical Assistance Programs* |
0.02 |
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Indian
Health Service Coverage* |
0.03 |
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Other
sources*^ |
0.30 |
|
|
|
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Total Medicare
Beneficiaries with Drug Coverage |
39.59 |
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# Inlcudes
beneficiaries with more than one of the following: TRICARE,
FEHPB, VA, Active Workers |
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*This information
is only available at the national level. |
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^Includes:
FEHBP Spouses and Dependents |
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Sources: CMS
Management Information Integrated Repository (MIIR) January 18,
2008; Office of Personnel Management; Department of Defense;
Department of Veterans Affairs; Indian Health Service; CMS
Coordination of Benefits Database (COB); CMS Creditable Coverage
Database; Information from Wisconsin State SPAP. |
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