HEALTH POLICY PAPER

Health Policy Paper

Health Policy Paper

Health Policy Research

Medicare is the only large health insurance carrier that does not include an outpatient prescription drug benefit. Population? yet account for over 36 percent of total outpatient drug expenditures. Private arrangements principally employer-sponsored insurance often fill this gap? but additional coverage comes from Medicaid? individually purchased private plans like Medigap? and health maintenance organizations. In addition? many states offer some type of prescription drug benefit to the elderly and disabled especially for diabetes patients.

Numerous plans have been proposed to add a prescription drug benefit to Medicare for diabetes? but ...