Medicare Part D 10 Essential Facts

Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) published 10 Essential Facts About Medicare and Prescription Drug Spending on July 7, 2016. Here are some of the 10 facts, in no particular order.

• “Medicare accounts for a growing share of the nation’s prescription drug spending: 29% in 2014 compared to 18% in 2006, the first year of the Part D benefit.”
•  “Prescription drugs accounted for $97 billion in Medicare spending in 2014, nearly 16% of all Medicare spending that year.”
• “Medicare Part D prescription drug spending – both total and per capita – is projected to grow more rapidly in the next decade than it did in the previous decade.”
• “As a result of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Medicare beneficiaries are now paying less than the full cost of their drugs when they reach the coverage gap (aka, the “doughnut hole”) and will pay only 25% by 2020 for both brand-name and generic drugs.”
• “High and rising drug costs are a concern for the public, and many leading proposals to reduce costs for all patients – including Medicare beneficiaries – enjoy broad support.”

To read all 10 facts and review the corresponding charts and explanations, click here.