Coalition for Affordable Health Coverage Joins More than 200 Patient, Labor, Business and Health Care Organizations In Urging Congress to Reject Changes to Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit

The Coalition for Affordable Health Coverage (CAHC) today joined with more than 200 leading patient, labor, business and health care organizations to urge Congress not to move forward with a proposal that would impose Medicaid’s rebate structure on the Medicare Part D program, which experts predict would likely reduce access to life-saving medicines and increase out-of-pocket costs for millions of seniors, veterans and disabled Americans.

“Part D has performed well above expectations due largely to the benefits of competition.” the groups wrote in a letter to Senator Patty Murray and Representative Jeb Hensarling, co-chairs of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction. “Since its implementation, Part D has cost taxpayers 41 percent less than originally projected. Beneficiary premiums are 44 percent less than projected, and have been stable from year to year—a degree of restraint unheard of in this era of health cost growth. Most or all of these gains would be at risk under the rebate proposal, with some estimates pegging the premium increase for seniors at 20 to 40 percent. This is a population who can least afford such an increase”

Click here to read the letter.

Survey: Nearly 90 Percent of Medicare Beneficiaries Satisfied with Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Coverage

Seniors Still Need More Information about Open Enrollment Period, Changes to Coverage Gap 

WASHINGTON – Medicare’s Part D prescription drug coverage program is maintaining its exceptionally high popularity among the nation’s older Americans, with a new survey showing that 88 percent of beneficiaries are satisfied with the program and 95 percent saying they have greater peace of mind as a result of Part D coverage.

The same survey shows, however, that many Medicare beneficiaries were not hearing about  the Part D open enrollment period that just opened on October 15 or of changes to the program, such as the reduced out-of-pocket amount beneficiaries will spend if their medication purchases place them in the Part D coverage gap, or so-called ‘donut hole.”

The survey of 992 Medicare beneficiaries, of which 403 have Medicare Part D coverage, was conducted by KRC Research.  It was commissioned by the Medicare Today coalition, an alliance of more than 400 national and local organizations committed to providing seniors and near-retirees with reliable information on Medicare benefits and program changes.

“Medicare Part D has reached popularity levels that you seldom, if ever, see from a government program,” said Mary R. Grealy, president of the Healthcare Leadership Council and co-chair of Medicare Today.  “Over the last five years of satisfaction surveys, Part D has stayed consistently above an 80 percent approval rating.  And given the fact that competition is keeping the program affordable – and that average premiums won’t increase in 2012 – satisfaction should stay very high.”

Among the key findings from beneficiaries with Medicare Part D plans:

• 95 percent say their current Part D plan works well, with 94% saying it is easy to use.
• 82 percent say their Part D plan offers good value.  Beyond that, 67 percent saying they have lowered their prescription drug spending.  That’s an eight percentage point increase since 2006.  Also, 34 percent say they used to skip or reduce their prescription medicine doses to save money, but now no longer have to do so.
• Part D popularity transcends partisan political lines.  Among self-identified Democrats, 91 percent are satisfied with their Part D coverage, compared to 89 percent of Republicans and 80 percent of independents.
• The high satisfaction rate is reflected in the number of beneficiaries who say they will likely shop and compare competing Medicare Part D plans during the open enrollment period.  Two of every three seniors said they are unlikely to shop around.

One area of concern, Ms. Grealy said, is that seniors aren’t as aware as they should be of changes to the Part D program or of the opportunity to change plans during the open enrollment period.

According to the KRC survey, only one of every three seniors said they had read, seen or heard any recent news about Medicare prescription drug plans.  Among those who had heard some sort of news, only 12 percent said they had seen information about the open enrollment period and only five percent said they had heard about new changes in the Part D coverage gap. (Part D enrollees in the coverage gap now have 50 percent of the cost of name-brand prescription drugs covered, and their out-of-pocket costs for generic drugs will decline.) 

“This is a clear signal that both the public and private sectors need to be more vigilant about keeping seniors informed of new and important developments in their Part D prescription drug coverage, including this year’s open enrollment period.” said Ms. Grealy.

The Medicare Part D open enrollment season, which began October 15, continues through December 7.  This is an earlier-than-usual beginning to the enrollment period.  Beneficiaries can get more information on Medicare Part D coverage by going to www.medicare.gov or by calling 1-800-MEDICARE.

More information on the Medicare Part D satisfaction survey can be found at www.medicaretoday.org.

About the Survey:  KRC Research conducted a random-digit-dial landline telephone survey of 992 seniors 65 years and older who are enrolled in Medicare.  Of those, KRC interviewed a total of 403 seniors with Medicare Rx plans, half with stand-alone plans and half with Medicare Advantage plans.  The margin of error for a sample size of 403 beneficiaries with Medicare Part D is plus or minus 4.9 percentage points.  For information about KRC Research, see www.krcresearch.com.

Notice to all Medicare advocates: Rep. Fitzpatrick is hosting town hall meeting tonight

Join Representative Fitzpatrick for a town hall meeting tonight.

Date: Monday, August 15

Time: 7:00-8:00pm

Location: Silver Creek Athletic Association, 2943 Route 212, Springtown, PA

If you have any questions, please call (215) 579-8102.

Medicare prescription drug premiums will not increase, more seniors receiving free preventive care, discounts in the donut hole

Medicare average prescription drug premiums will not increase in 2012. The announcement from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) comes as more people with Medicare are receiving discounts on prescription drug costs and no-cost preventive services. New data indicates that 17 million people with Medicare have received free preventive services this year while 900,000 Medicare beneficiaries who hit the prescription drug donut hole have received a 50 percent discount on their prescription drugs.

Notice to all Medicare advocates: Rep. Fitzpatrick hosting town hall meeting tonight

Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick will be hosting a town hall meeting tonight (August 3, 2011). Details for the meeting below:

Date: Wednesday, August 3

Time: 7:30-8:30pm

Location: Morrisville High School

If you have any questions, please call (215) 579-8102.

Senior Citizens Will Pay Dearly For Health Care Price Controls

Forbes reports: Now that the budget deal is passed, lawmakers are tasked with reducing federal spending. The proposal to impose price controls on prescription drugs in the Medicare Part D program would force seniors to pay more for the drugs they need – or worse, could deprive them of access to critical medicines.

New Study: Health care savings due to Medicare Part D

The NY Times reported today about a new study that shows that Medicare Part D contributes to decreases in other health care spends such as hospitalizations and short-term stays in nursing homes.

WSJ Editorial Says “Price Controls on Medicare Part D drugs would cripple medical innovation”

In a Wall Street Journal op-ed, Tomas Philipson from the University of Chicago highlights the successes of the Medicare prescription drug benefit and warns of costly consequences if government price controls are implemented.

Huffington Post weighs in on political implications of altering Part D

The Huffington Post blogged about the the positive impacts of Part D from senior satisfaction, coming in under budget every year since inception, and low premiums. Medicare has traditionally been a “Democratic” program with Republicans putting their stamp on it with the prescription drug benefit. Doug Schoen issues warning to both parties about being cautious about any policy that could negatively alter the very popular government-backed program.  He suggests using the program as a model along with care coordination and management of chronic disease to improve the entire Medicare program. Let’s hope Congress listens…

National Taypayers Union Letter to Congress Against Part D Rebates

NTU published their Open Letter to Congress stating their opposition to adding rebates to the Medicare Part D program among their other issues surrounding debt ceiling conversations. Although NTU did not originally support the Part D program’s inception in 2003, they feel that implementing rebates will not help seniors and would also curtail research and innovation for life-saving medications.

View the full letter.