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April 22, 2008Medicare Part D Beneficiaries May Pay a Price for Poor Knowledge of their Part D Benefits |
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From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: Medicare Beneficiaries have limited knowledge of their Medicare Part D outpatient prescription drug benefits. And those who are unaware of the coverage gap are less likely to report any cost-coping behaviors and more likely to report that the costs of drugs created a substantial financial burden, according to researchers. The study shows that many seniors have trouble understanding these benefits, and that this poor knowledge limits their ability to manage their medication needs and costs," said John Hsu, MD, Director of Kaiser Permanente's Center for Health Policy Studies and the lead investigator and author of the study. "This study tells us that more education is needed to help Medicare enrollees gain the most from the benefit, but it also tells us that Kaiser Permanente and plans like them that encourage their members to use the medications that are most effective, but least costly, are helping their patients stay healthy and at the same time find the best value in their health care coverage." Increased efforts are needed by Medicare and all Part D plans to offer tools to help physicians and beneficiaries choose the treatment options offering the greatest individual value, explained Hsu. Fewer than one in twelve beneficiaries in this Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug plan entered the coverage gap, which is a considerably smaller ratio than suggested by estimates performed before the Part D implementation. "These findings once again reinforce the need to monitor closely how new policy changes affect patients and society in general.
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