Tracking Prescription Drug Coverage Under Medicare: Five Ways to Look at the New Enrollment Numbers

Publication Date: February 2006

Publisher: Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation

Author(s):

Research Area: Health

Type: Brief

Coverage: United States

Abstract:

On February 22, 2006, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released updated figures showing the total number of Medicare beneficiaries with prescription drug coverage under new Medicare Part D plans and other sources. The debate in the media and the health policy community which followed the initial release of the Administration’s numbers shows that there are several ways, each legitimate in its own right, to measure the reach of the new program.

Because the debate may have done more to confuse than to inform, this issue brief examines several approaches to looking at these numbers and discusses each approach in terms of how it portrays the reach of the new program. It also includes a brief discussion of low-income participation rates, another key indicator of the program’s success in providing help to low-income beneficiaries.