Beneficiary Cost-Sharing Under the Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit (CRS Report for Congress)
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| Release Date |
Revised Jan. 20, 2005 |
| Report Number |
RL31525 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Chris L. Peterson and Jim S. Hahn, Domestic Social Policy Division |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
| Older Revisions |
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Summary:
In late June 2003, both the Senate and the House passed legislation to add aprescription drug benefit to the Medicare program. The structure of the proposedstandard prescription drug coverage is similar under both the Prescription Drug andMedicare Improvement Act of 2003 (S. 1) and the Medicare Prescription Drug andModernization Act of 2003 (H.R. 1). Within that structure, however, the amountspaid in cost-sharing by beneficiaries can differ substantially between the bills,depending on each beneficiary's total prescription drug spending and whether thebeneficiary qualifies for low-income assistance. This report provides an analysis ofhow the cost-sharing and premium provisions under each bill would affect theamount that a beneficiary would pay annually for prescription drugs. In addition,this report gives examples of how annual cost-sharing would differ for beneficiarieswith various levels of total prescription drug spending in 2006 under the two plans.
