RAND Research Topic: Medicare Part D 2012-05-24T14:56:59Z Copyright (c) 2012, The RAND Corporation RAND Corporation http://www.rand.org/topics/medicare-part-d.html Planning for an Aging Nation: New Estimates to Inform Policy Analysis for Senior Health http://www.rand.org/pubs/rgs_dissertations/RGSD293.html Apr 12, 2012 Apr 12, 2012 Provides insights into the costs and challenges of providing health care to the elderly population. Sources of Regional Variation in Medicare Part D Drug Spending http://www.rand.org/pubs/external_publications/EP20120031.html Feb 1, 2012 Feb 1, 2012 Regional variation in Medicare Part D spending for prescription drugs results largely from differences in the cost of drugs selected rather than prescription volume. Using Matched Survey and Administrative Data to Estimate Eligibility for Medicare Part D Low Income Subsidy Program http://www.rand.org/pubs/external_publications/EP201000174.html Dec 31, 2009 Dec 31, 2009 This article uses matched survey and administrative data to estimate, as of 2006, the size of the population eligible for the Low-Income Subsidy (LIS), which was designed to provide &quot;extra help&quot; with premiums, deductibles, and copayments for Medicare Part D beneficiaries with low income and limited assets. Prescription Drug Cost Sharing: A Powerful Policy Lever to Use with Care http://www.rand.org/pubs/research_briefs/RB9474.html Oct 21, 2009 Oct 21, 2009 <p>Describes the effects that prescription drug cost sharing has on drug spending, compliance with drug therapy, patient health, and overall health care costs.</p> Essays on Government Policy and Pharmaceutical Innovation http://www.rand.org/pubs/rgs_dissertations/RGSD248.html Sep 23, 2009 Sep 23, 2009 <p>Investigates two mechanisms by which governments may influence pharmaceutical research and development priorities: (1) public funding for life sciences research; and (2) prescription drug insurance, as in Medicare Part D.</p> Medicare Prescription Benefit Program Has Exceeded Expectations http://www.rand.org/news/press/2009/08/24.html Aug 24, 2009 Aug 24, 2009 The program created to provide Medicare recipients with prescription drug benefits exceeded expectations during its first two years, extending pharmacy coverage to most seniors while reducing their overall spending on drugs. Medicare Prescription Benefit Program Has Exceeded Expectations http://www.rand.org/pubs/external_publications/EP20090812.html Aug 23, 2009 Aug 23, 2009 <p>The program created to provide Medicare recipients with prescription drug benefits exceeded expectations during its first two years, extending pharmacy coverage to most seniors while reducing their overall spending on drugs.</p> Questionable Estimates of Eligibility for Low-Income Subsidies Under Medicare Part D http://www.rand.org/pubs/technical_reports/TR686.html Jul 23, 2009 Jul 23, 2009 In 2003, Congress added a prescription drug benefit to the Medicare program known as Part D and a Low-Income Subsidy (LIS) for some Part D beneficiaries. About 29 percent were eligible for the LIS in 2006 but there is considerable uncertainty around this estimate. Preserving Health among Vulnerable Populations: Three Essays http://www.rand.org/pubs/rgs_dissertations/RGSD245.html Jun 23, 2009 Jun 23, 2009 <p>This dissertation consists of three stand-alone essays that focus on the economics of preserving health among vulnerable population, specifically chronic ill and elderly population.</p> Insurer Bargaining and Negotiated Drug Prices in Medicare Part D http://www.rand.org/pubs/external_publications/EP20090916.html Dec 31, 2008 Dec 31, 2008 <p>The authors test whether insurers that experience larger enrollment increases due to Medicare Part D negotiate lower drug prices with pharmacies. Overall, the authors find that 100,000 additional insureds lead to 2.5-percent lower pharmacy prices negotiated by the insurer, and 5-percent reductions in pharmacy profits earned on prescriptions filled by enrollees of that insurer.</p> Psychometric Properties of an Instrument to Assess Medicare Beneficiaries' Prescription Drug Plan Experiences http://www.rand.org/pubs/external_publications/EP20090325.html Dec 31, 2008 Dec 31, 2008 <p>Using data from 335,249 Medicare beneficiaries who responded to the 2007 Medicare Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) survey, along with data from 22 cognitive interviews, the authors investigated the reliability and validity of an instrument designed to assess beneficiaries' experiences with their prescription drug plans.</p> Strategies for Identifying and Channeling Patients for Depression Care Management http://www.rand.org/pubs/external_publications/EP20080828.html Dec 31, 2007 Dec 31, 2007 <p>A multi-pronged effort composed of mail screening (using the PHQ-2), self-reported antidepressant use, and claims diagnoses of depression may capture the greatest number of chronically ill Medicare enrollees with possible depression.</p> Identifying Widely Covered Drugs and Drug Coverage Variation Among Medicare Part D Formularies http://www.rand.org/pubs/external_publications/EP20070618.html Dec 31, 2006 Dec 31, 2006 <p>Clinicians can find it difficult to know which drugs are covered for their Medicare patients because formularies vary widely among Medicare Part D plans and many states have 50 or more such plans.</p> Prescription Drug Coverage and Elderly Medicare Spending http://www.rand.org/pubs/external_publications/EP20070912.html Dec 31, 2006 Dec 31, 2006 <p>The introduction of Medicare Part D has generated interest in the cost of providing drug coverage to the elderly.</p> Geoffrey F. Joyce http://www.rand.org/about/people/j/joyce_geoffrey_f.html <em>Codirector, UCLA/RAND Health Services Research Training Program</em><br>Ph.D. in economics, City University of New York; M.P.P., University of Michigan; B.A., Connecticut College