Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report Highlights Medicare Drug Benefit Open Enrollment News
Summaries of recent articles about the Medicare prescription drug benefit appear below. Open enrollment for the benefit begins on Saturday and ends on Dec. 31.
- Campaign: Healthcare Leadership Council President Mary Grealy and former Sens. John Breaux (D-La.) and Trent Lott (R-Miss.) announced Wednesday the Medicare Today national campaign to raise awareness of the Medicare Part D open enrollment period, CQ HealthBeat reports. Grealy said the campaign will consist of television advertisements, media and grass roots persuasion. According to a Medicare Today survey about seniors' opinions of the 2003 Medicare law, 90% of current beneficiaries are satisfied with the program, compared with 78% in early 2006 (Weyl, CQ HealthBeat, 11/12).
- Cost increases: Many health insurers are increasing monthly premiums and copayments and reducing benefits in Medicare drug plans and Medicare Advantage plans, the Detroit Free Press reports. According to a recent analysis released by the Kaiser Family Foundation, seniors on average face a 25% increase nationwide in monthly premiums for Medicare drug plans. According to the Free Press, some seniors are worried about whether they will be able to pay for the programs (Anstett, Detroit Free Press, 11/11). In addition, USA Today reported that Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in the largest Medicare prescription drug plans in 2009 will pay an average of 43% more in monthly premiums than they paid in 2006, according to two analyses by the Kaiser Family Foundation and Avalere Health. CMS spokesperson Jeff Nelligan said as long as Medicare beneficiaries are willing to switch plans, they will be able to find one that is the same price or that costs less than what they paid in 2008 (Appleby, USA Today, 11/12).
- Health literacy: The issue of beneficiaries' "'health literacy' has been getting some attention in the insurance and health care fields but has largely flown under the radar outside those specialized groups," the AP/Tennessean reports. According to the AP/Tennessean, "the effort to improve the way health information is presented has focused mostly on actual health care delivery," but "recognition of the need to better educate consumers is spreading to the health insurance and benefits arena." Susan Pisano, a vice president with America's Health Insurance Plans, said, "It is a movement that is more or less in its infancy," adding, "It's gaining momentum and there is a serious commitment on the part of hospitals, insurers and others, to make information clearer and easier to act on" (AP/Tennessean, 11/12).
- Plan selection: Health care experts are warning seniors against automatically re-enrolling in their Medicare drug plan without considering other options because many plans have increased premiums and changed benefits, the Memphis Commercial Appeal reports. Experts say that seniors should consider factors such as whether the plan covers needed drugs, whether their pharmacy accepts the plan, copays and whether the plan provides coverage during the "doughnut hole" coverage gap (Connolly, Memphis Commercial Appeal, 11/11). The Wall Street Journal also examined how as a result of rising premiums, Medicare beneficiaries "may be better off shopping around this year for" prescription drug benefit plans during open enrollment than staying with their current plan. According to the Journal, a number of plans are adding or raising deductibles and copays for brand-name drugs and a number of the plans do not offer any coverage once beneficiaries reach the doughnut hole coverage gap (Zhang, Wall Street Journal, 11/9).
