Prescription Drug Costs and Coverage, Public Opinion, Research & Recent Legislation

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Prescription Drug Trends
Trend data for prescription drug coverage, expenditures, and the key factors that contribute to rising prescription spending.

Views On Prescription Drugs And The Pharmaceutical Industry
This spotlight compiles and analyzes public opinion data from Kaiser surveys and other sources on the public’s experiences with prescription drugs and perceptions of the pharmaceutical industry.

Recent Documents: (241 results)

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2009 Kaiser/HRET Employer Health Benefit Survey -- September 2009
This benchmark annual survey of employers provides a detailed look at trends in employer-sponsored health coverage, including changes in premiums, employee contributions, cost-sharing policies and other relevant information.

Examining Sources of Supplemental Insurance and Prescription Drug Coverage Among Medicare Beneficiaries: Findings from the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey, 2007 -- August 2009
This chartpack presents new information on the sources of supplemental and prescription drug coverage among Medicare beneficiaries in 2007, the most recent year for which national data are available.

Medicare Part D 2009 Data Spotlight: Ten Most Common Brand-Name Drugs -- June 2009
This Data Spotlight focuses on Part D plan coverage of the ten brand-name drugs that were most commonly prescribed for Medicare beneficiaries in 2006 and lack generic equivalents in 2009.

Medicare Spending and Financing Fact Sheet -- May 2009
This updated fact sheet provides an overview of spending on the Medicare program, how the program is financed, and Medicare’s future financial outlook. It includes the latest available data on Medicare financing.

Pulling it Together: About Kaiser Health News -- May 2009
In his latest essay for "Pulling It Together, From Drew Altman," the Foundation's President and CEO discusses the motivation behind launching Kaiser Health News, a new nonprofit health policy news service.

Virtual Briefing: 2009 National ADAP Monitoring Project Annual Report -- April 2009

This webcast features an overview of the report’s key findings and a panel discussion about the challenges facing state AIDS Drug Assistance Programs (ADAPs).

2009 National ADAP Monitoring Project Annual Report -- April 2009

This report provides the latest available data on state AIDS Drug Assistance Programs (ADAPs), including a look at current trends, budget challenges and the reemergence of waiting lists in three states.

Tutorial: Tax Subsidies for Health Care -- April 2009
This narrated presentation explains how tax subsidies for health insurance work and discusses the arguments for and against them.

Tutorial: Public and Health Care Reform -- April 2009
This narrated presentation discusses public opinion on various options for health care reform.

Health Care Costs: A Primer -- March 2009
This primer on health care costs examines the rapid growth in the nation’s health care costs since 1970, when the average growth in health spending exceeded the growth of the economy as a whole by an average of 2.5 percentage points. It also examines the impact of health care costs on families, with insurance premiums rising 87% between 2000 and 2006, more than four times the growth in wages.

This benchmark annual survey of employers provides a detailed look at trends in employer-sponsored health coverage, including changes in premiums, employee contributions, cost-sharing policies and other relevant information.

This chartpack presents new information on the sources of supplemental and prescription drug coverage among Medicare beneficiaries in 2007, the most recent year for which national data are available.

This Data Spotlight focuses on Part D plan coverage of the ten brand-name drugs that were most commonly prescribed for Medicare beneficiaries in 2006 and lack generic equivalents in 2009.

This updated fact sheet provides an overview of spending on the Medicare program, how the program is financed, and Medicare’s future financial outlook. It includes the latest available data on Medicare financing.

In his latest essay for "Pulling It Together, From Drew Altman," the Foundation's President and CEO discusses the motivation behind launching Kaiser Health News, a new nonprofit health policy news service.

This webcast features an overview of the report’s key findings and a panel discussion about the challenges facing state AIDS Drug Assistance Programs (ADAPs).

This report provides the latest available data on state AIDS Drug Assistance Programs (ADAPs), including a look at current trends, budget challenges and the reemergence of waiting lists in three states.

This narrated presentation explains how tax subsidies for health insurance work and discusses the arguments for and against them.

This narrated presentation discusses public opinion on various options for health care reform.

This primer on health care costs examines the rapid growth in the nation’s health care costs since 1970, when the average growth in health spending exceeded the growth of the economy as a whole by an average of 2.5 percentage points. It also examines the impact of health care costs on families, with insurance premiums rising 87% between 2000 and 2006, more than four times the growth in wages.

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Prescription Drugs

Prescription drugs have grown to become an essential component of health care. For millions of Americans, prescription therapies are necessary to their health and ability to function in society. While prescriptions are a relatively small share of overall health spending (11%), they are a key driver of health spending trends, growing almost twice as fast all other health services in recent years.

Public attention has focused on prescription drugs and on the pharmaceutical industry because of the very rapid growth of drug costs and because a significant portion of the population lacks insurance to cover the costs of the drugs they need. Older Americans, who use a disproportionate share of prescription drugs, are less likely to have coverage than younger people because Medicare generally does not cover outpatient pharmaceutical costs. Higher drug costs are placing a stress in public and private insurance programs, and are an important component of the recent growth in state Medicaid spending. Methods of controlling prescription costs (such formularies, requiring generic rather than brand name drugs, tiered copayments) are being used, and their impact on costs and consumers studied. Many of these prescription issues are being examined as policymakers explore options for expanding Medicare’s coverage to include outpatient drugs.

The Foundation’s work on the topic of prescription drugs cuts across private sector, Medicare, and Medicaid program areas. Basic information about the market for prescription drugs, including data on costs and coverage, is provided in chartbooks and factsheets. Surveys and reports look at the issues surrounding adding a prescription drug benefit to Medicare; recent legislation on this topic is summarized and explained as well. Recent state efforts to modify their Medicaid prescription programs and pharmaceutical assistance programs are discussed in several reports and fact sheets. The issue of drug promotion by drug manufacturers is also analyzed in a series of reports. The Foundation’s web site for in-depth coverage of health policy news (www.kaisernetwork.org) provides an Issue Spotlight on prescription drugs. The Foundation’s State Health Facts Online website (www.statehealthfacts.kff.org) provides state data on prescription use, sales, and average prices.