 |
|
Switching Health Plans to Obtain Drug Coverage
Joseph P. Newhouse, PhD
JAMA. 2000;283:2161-2162.
|
|
| Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings. |
|
|
|
The recent rapid increase in both the pharmaceutical armamentarium and drug spending has made the anachronism of no Medicare outpatient drug benefit an increasing burden for Medicare beneficiaries. Not surprisingly, discussions of a new Medicare drug benefit are prominent on the current political agenda.
Despite the lack of coverage in the program, more than half of Medicare beneficiaries have some coverage for drugs, which they obtain through 1 of 4 sources: supplemental or retiree health insurance through a former employer; Medicaid; individual Medigap policies that cover drugs; or managed care organizations. In 1995, the proportions of beneficiaries who obtained coverage for drugs through these 4 sources were 31%, 12%, 11%, and 7%, respectively. However, in light of the growth in managed care enrollment since 1995, the proportion of Medicare beneficiaries who obtain coverage for drugs through managed care organizations is probably around 10% today.1
Not everyone . . . [Full Text of this Article]
Author Affiliation: Department of Health Care Policy, Harvard Medical School, Department of Health Policy and Management, Harvard School of Public Health, and Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, Boston, Mass.
RELATED ARTICLE
Exhaustion of Drug Benefits and Disenrollment of Medicare Beneficiaries From Managed Care Organizations
Thomas S. Rector
JAMA. 2000;283(16):2163-2167.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES
Compliance among Pharmacies in California with a Prescription-Drug Discount Program for Medicare Beneficiaries
Lewis et al.
NEJM 2002;346:830-835.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
|
