Capping Medicare beneficiary Part D spending at $2,000: who would it help and how much?
- Collection:
- Health Policy and Services Research
- Alternate Title(s):
- Capping Medicare beneficiary Part D spending at two thousand dollars
- Author(s):
- Gangopadhyaya, Anuj, author Garrett, Bowen, author
- Contributor(s):
- Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, issuing body. Urban Institute, issuing body.
- Publication:
- Washington, DC : Urban Institute, March 2022
- Language(s):
- English
- Format:
- Text
- Subject(s):
- Health Equity -- economics Health Expenditures -- statistics & numerical data Health Policy Medicare Part D -- economics Prescription Fees -- legislation & jurisprudence Social Mobility United States
- Genre(s):
- Technical Report
- Abstract:
- The Build Back Better Act, passed by the US House of Representatives in November 2021, included several provisions to lower high prescription drug costs. These provisions included allowing the federal government to negotiate lower prices for certain high-cost drugs in Medicare Parts B and D, limiting annual increases in drug prices in Medicare and private insurance, and capping out-of-pocket (OOP) spending on prescription drugs for Medicare Part D enrollees at $2,000. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that these drug pricing provisions could reduce the federal budget deficit by nearly $297 billion from 2022 to 2031. In this brief, we focus on the $2,000 cap on OOP spending for Medicare Part D enrollees, examining the number of people who might benefit from the provision and their characteristics, the resulting amount of savings for affected beneficiaries, and the provision’s effects on Medicare spending. The cap on beneficiaries' Part D spending has also been proposed as a key feature of the Capping Drug Costs for Seniors Act of 2021, which three House members introduced in July 2021. Although the Build Back Better Act is unlikely to be passed in its current form, the cap and other drug provisions could remain in a potential slimmed-down budget reconciliation bill that might pass in both the House and the Senate. Overall, the Build Back Better Act’s drug provisions could generate savings, and, as we discuss below, the $2,000 OOP cap would add little to new government spending. Such a cap would benefit enrollees who do not qualify for Part D cost-sharing protections under the Low-Income Subsidy (LIS) program, who we refer to as “non-LIS enrollees” throughout.
- Copyright:
- Reproduced with permission of the copyright holder. Further use of the material is subject to CC BY-NC-DC license. (More information)
- Extent:
- 1 online resource (1 PDF file (13 pages))
- Illustrations:
- Illustrations
- NLM Unique ID:
- 9918486680206676 (See catalog record)
- Permanent Link:
- http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/9918486680206676