Medicare Rx Access Network of Florida » Facebook.com/MedicareRxFL » @MedRxFL The Medicare Part D program is succeeding beyond all expectations, delivering needed prescription drugs to Medicare beneficiaries at a far lower cost than expected. Part D costs are 45 percent lower than projected for the initial 2004-2013 forecast period, according to Congressional Budget Office (CBO) data. Additionally, CBO has continued reducing its cost projection as the program has gained experience, cutting Part D spending estimates by over $100 billion each of the past three years. Surveys show that enrollees are overwhelmingly satisfied with their Part D coverage. Ninety percent of Part D enrollees are satisfied with their coverage, and 96 percent say their coverage works well. Additionally, vulnerable beneficiaries who are eligible for Medicaid and Medicare exhibited the highest satisfaction. Additionally, a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) showed the implementation of Part D was associated with a $1,200 average reduction in non-drug medical spending for each of the first two years of the program for beneficiaries who had limited drug coverage before Part D. There are currently two proposals – repealing non-interference and imposing Medicaid-style rebates – under consideration by the President and some members of Congress as part of deficit reduction negotiations that threaten to disrupt Part D’s unique market-based approach and destabilize the program. When Part D was enacted, it included a provision known as the non-interference clause, which prohibits the Secretary of Health and Human Services from interfering in the private price negotiations between Medicare Part D plans and drug manufacturers and pharmacies in the program. For this reason, the program has been able to keep costs low and provide substantial rebates and discounts for beneficiaries. The nonpartisan CBO continues to say that private Part D plans can effectively negotiate savings on Medicare drug costs and that striking Part D’s non-interference clause is unlikely to achieve any significant savings unless the government also restricts beneficiary access to prescription drugs or fixes prices. Average monthly beneficiary premiums of $30 for Part D 2013 are far below original projections of $61, making medicines more affordable. Introducing Medicaid-style rebates into the Medicare Part D program could raise beneficiary premiums by 20 to 40 percent, according to a 2011 analysis by a former CBO director. Part D plans expect their average cost per enrollee to fall again in 2013, even though the Part D benefit has increased. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) increased the value of Part D benefits by providing a 50 percent discount on brand drugs while in the coverage gap beginning in 2011 and a phased-in closing of the remaining coverage gap by 2020 for brand and generic drugs. Despite these significant enhancements to the value of the benefit, Part D plan bids have decreased three years in a row. Benefits of Medicare Part D

Medicare Rx Access Network of Florida - Medicare Part D Benefits

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Medicare Rx Access Network of Florida » Facebook.com/MedicareRxFL » @MedRxFL

The Medicare Part D program is succeeding beyond all expectations, delivering needed prescription drugs to Medicare beneficiaries at a far lower cost than expected. Part D costs are 45 percent lower than projected for the initial 2004-2013 forecast period, according to Congressional Budget Office (CBO) data. Additionally, CBO has continued reducing its cost projection as the program has gained experience, cutting Part D spending estimates by over $100 billion each of the past three years. Surveys show that enrollees are overwhelmingly satisfied with their Part D coverage. Ninety percent of Part D enrollees are satisfied with their coverage, and 96 percent say their coverage works well. Additionally, vulnerable beneficiaries who are eligible for Medicaid and Medicare exhibited the highest satisfaction. Additionally, a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) showed the implementation of Part D was associated with a $1,200 average reduction in non-drug medical spending for each of the first two years of the program for beneficiaries who had limited drug coverage before Part D.

There are currently two proposals – repealing non-interference and imposing Medicaid-style rebates – under consideration by the President and some members of Congress as part of deficit reduction negotiations that threaten to disrupt Part D’s unique market-based approach and destabilize the program.

When Part D was enacted, it included a provision known as the non-interference clause, which prohibits the Secretary of Health and Human Services from interfering in the private price negotiations between Medicare Part D plans and drug manufacturers and pharmacies in the program. For this reason, the program has been able to keep costs low and provide substantial rebates and discounts for beneficiaries. The nonpartisan CBO continues to say that private Part D plans can effectively negotiate savings on Medicare drug costs and that striking Part D’s non-interference clause is unlikely to achieve any significant savings unless the government also restricts beneficiary access to prescription drugs or fixes prices.

Average monthly beneficiary premiums of $30 for Part D 2013 are far below original projections of $61, making medicines more affordable. Introducing Medicaid-style rebates into the Medicare Part D program could raise beneficiary premiums by 20 to 40 percent, according to a 2011 analysis by a former CBO director. Part D plans expect their average cost per enrollee to fall again in 2013, even though the Part D benefit has increased. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) increased the value of Part D benefits by providing a 50 percent discount on brand drugs while in the coverage gap beginning in 2011 and a phased-in closing of the remaining coverage gap by 2020 for brand and generic drugs. Despite these significant enhancements to the value of the benefit, Part D plan bids have decreased three years in a row.

Benefits of Medicare Part D