Search is Powered by Google
Follow us on:
Follow our health news on Twitter
Follow Our News on Facebook
Personalization
login | register
Medicare / Medicaid / SCHIP News

Fewer Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Options Available Next Year For Low-Income Residents, According To Analysis

Main Category: Medicare / Medicaid / SCHIP
Article Date: 10 Oct 2008 - 12:00 PDT

email icon email to a friend   printer icon printer friendly   write icon view / write opinions   rate icon rate article
Current Article Ratings:

Patient / Public:4 stars

4 (1 votes)

Health Professional:not yet rated

Article Opinions: 0 posts

Low-income residents in all states but Wisconsin who are enrolled in Medicare prescription drug benefit plans will have fewer plans to choose from in 2009, according to an analysis released this week by Avalere Health, USA Today reports. According to the analysis, the number of free-standing plans eligible to serve low-income beneficiaries, who qualify for lower deductibles and monthly premiums or no premiums at all, will decrease from about 500 this year to 308 in 2009.

To qualify to serve low-income beneficiaries, insurers must keep their Part D premiums below a federal standard based on the average premium. According to USA Today, many insurers already have raised their premiums for 2009 to levels that make them ineligible to serve low-income beneficiaries.

The number of low-income beneficiaries under Part D who will be forced to switch to new coverage will increase to 1.3 million, from 1.2 million this year and 250,000 in 2007, according to the report. Under the new changes, low-income residents in Nevada will have only one stand-alone drug plan, Arizona residents will have two and beneficiaries in Florida, Hawaii, Maine and New Hampshire will have a maximum of five plans from which to choose.

Humana in 2009 will not offer plans for low-income beneficiaries in the 43 states it currently serves. Cigna will provide plans for low-income beneficiaries in just 14 states next year, down from 29 states this year. However, UnitedHealth Group in 2009 will increase the number of states in which it offers plans for low-income beneficiaries to 42, up from 30 this year (Appleby, USA Today, 10/9).

Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.

© 2008 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation.  All rights reserved.




Personalized Homepage Weekly Newsletters Daily News Alerts
Hemophilia Opioid Induced Constipation Pneumococcal Disease ADHD Anxiety Asthma Atrial Fibrillation Autism Cancer Diabetes Lung Cancer Lupus Medicare / Medicaid Obesity and BMI Pancreatic Cancer Stem Cells All 'What Is...' Articles

Ophthalmology Urology
About Us News Licensing Free Website Feeds Free Tools & Content Tell a Friend Accessibility Help / FAQ Article Submission Links Contact Us

add medical news today to your facebook
medical news gadget

Please fill in our survey

Swine Flu Image

Swine Flu Updates

- Latest Swine Flu News
- What is Swine Flu?
- Map Of H1N1 Outbreaks
- Swine Flu - Top 20 FAQ
- Daily Email News Alerts
Stick with Medical News Today for the latest news updates on swine flu.


These are the most read articles from this news category for the last 6 months:
Top Article Star
House Democrats Unveil Health Care Reform Proposal
16 Jul 2009
House Democratic leaders on Tuesday unveiled a health care reform bill that aims to extend coverage to 37 million U.S. residents over 10 years, the Washington Post reports. According to Democratic aides, the bill would ensure that 97% of U.S...


Flossing Your Teeth The Right Way
Flossing Your Teeth The Right Way

Flossing is important for a healthy mouth. But to get the most benefit without causing pain, you need to know how to do it the right way.

more videos are available in our health videos section.