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Prescription Drug Benefits: Applying Private Sector Management Methods to Medicare

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Report Type Reports and Testimonies
Report Date March 22, 2000
Report No. T-HEHS-00-84
Subject
Summary:

In earlier congressional testimony, GAO has emphasized the need to make prescription drugs more affordable to Medicare beneficiaries who lack coverage by expanding access to group rates, extending discounts associated with group purchasing, and targeting government subsidies for those most in need. Doing this will require incorporating cost-control methods. To control prescription drug costs, the private sector has developed and refined techniques implemented in some Medicare+Choice plans and private health plans. Applying them to the Medicare population would require adaptations that might diminish their effectiveness. Medicare drug coverage should be designed and implemented in a way that minimizes Medicare's financial implications and maximizes the positive effects of beneficiaries' coverage.

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