Medicaid is a public insurance program jointly administered by federal and state governments that covers low-income families and individuals, including: children, parents, pregnant women, seniors, and people with disabilities. The Affordable Care Act expanded Medicaid coverage by raising the means-testing threshold to 138 percent of the poverty line ($26,951 for a family of three), which in turn made more families and individuals eligible for Medicaid. According to the Center on Budget and Policy
The implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will only hasten changes that were on the horizon for pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms. Pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries new there was going to be some type of healthcare reform so they began to take the necessary precautions to prepare. There are vital provisions in the ACA related to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry affecting Medicare and Medicaid. Legislation in the ACA will provide provision to reduce cost for
One of the underlying issues of rising costs lies in the hands-off role that the government is given in regards to the price-setting of drugs offered through prescription drug plans (PDPs). The Medicare Prescription Drug Improvement, and Modernization Act (MMA) of 2003 is the essential piece of legislation that created what Medicare Part D provisions (Frank & Newhouse, 2008) are in place currently. While this provision provides low-income older Americans with necessary medications, within the initial
While it is clearly evident that the United States has much higher prescription prices than Canada and England, it will not be easy to solve these issues. Congressional gridlock, polarization, and the power of pharmaceutical lobbyists makes negotiating or changing Part D, the part of Medicare concerned with prescription drug costs, very difficult. However the best chance at creating change might be advocating the severity of the issue to those on the frontline of healthcare: physicians. Due to the
before the gap, just as drug reduction does, and typically continues through the gap until catastrophic coverage is reached, or until they reach the next year and reset the entire process (Madden and Graves, 2009; Nekhlyudov and Madden, 2011; Zivin and Madden, 2009). The danger of medication nonadherence also comes in the health outcomes of those who fail to adhere. As explained above, when there is an increase in out-of-pocket spending required to get prescription drugs, there is an increase in
Medicare Part D was created under the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003. (Medicare Part D, 2011). It is also known as the prescription Drug Plan. This plan was created to help cover cost of prescription drugs, and people who have the original Medicare or Medicare Advantage are eligible to enroll (Medicare Part D, 2011). Prescription drug coverage is only offered through HMOs, PPOs, and PFFSs and by some private companies who contract with Medicare through individual
Affordable Care Act has already reduced copayments for Medicare patients and it will increase the number of people covered for prescription drugs. By making drugs more affordable, the reform will likely increase the volume of drugs used in the U.S. — prescription rates are likely to rise, as will patients’ compliance to treatments. But will prices fall? The reform does not provide new leverage to lower prices and nor does it remove barriers to price negotiation for some Medicare plans. At best,
opposite of what the Clinton administration tried; the Clinton plan became a invaluable blueprint for what not to do in health reform.2 For example, while the Clinton administration fought an unsuccessful two-front war against the insurance industry and the small-business lobby, 3 the Obama administration sought to compromise with interest groups. In addition, the administration worked
The federal government is the largest single payor of healthcare services in the United States through a variety of federal healthcare programs such as the Medicare and Medicaid programs established under the Social Security Act (SSA). The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) administers Medicare through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), formerly known as the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA). CMS also oversees the Medicaid program in conjunction with the
other generic company. Once the generic company enters the market, they can begin to make money and the consumer can start saving on those products. Although congress attempted to satisfy each person that will be affected by this Act, the patent holder was not completely satisfy, so they engaged in activities such as reverse payment. This is when the pioneer company pay millions of dollars to the generic company to postpone generic company application as long as possible to keep the market focus