Confused about Medicare’s drug coverage? You’re not alone. Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage For Dummies explains Part D in plain English and shows you how to find the best deal among numerous drug-coverage plan options. Whether you’re new to Medicare or already in the program, you’ll navigate the system with more ease and confidence, avoid pitfalls and scams, and have plenty of help choosing the plan that’s right for you. This easy-to-understand, consumer-friendly guide helps you find out whether Part D affects any drug coverage you already have and weigh the consequences of going without coverage. You’ll find ways to compare plans, identify the one that covers your drugs at the least cost, and make sure you sign up at the right time. And you’ll learn how to minimize your expenses, use the “right” pharmacies, and troubleshoot any problems with your coverage. Discover how to: Decide whether you need Part D Understand how Part D works, from costs to coverage Choose and enroll in the best plan for you Get up and running with Part D Handle the coverage gap Lower your drug costs Join and switch plans Comply with long-term-care rules and rights Challenge plan decisions Avoid scams and hard-sell marketing Now, more than ever, you need clear, reliable information that helps you understand Part D and make smart, cost-saving healthcare decisions. You need Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage For Dummies.

How will the failures and findings of the past affect this fiercely debated current issue? In the near future, Congress may call for federal provision of outpatient prescription drugs as a benefit of the Medicare program. Prescription Drugs Under Medicare: The Legacy of the Task Force on Prescription Drugs is the story of the very first serious federal effort to study the feasibility of funding a drug benefits program for the elderly. That effort failed, and this fascinating text reveals why and how the program came to grief. Prescription Drugs Under Medicare explains the politics and practicalities of several government efforts to fund prescriptions for the elderly. The 1969 task force report is reprinted here in its entirety, along with comments from two of its primary architects, Dr. T. Donald Rucker and Dr. Philip Lee. Also included are excerpts from the report's review by the Dunlop Committee. The drug prices have changed, but the basic dilemma is the same. Prescription Drugs Under Medicare examines the burning issues, including: the reasons for the explosive growth in prescription prices from the 1950s onward the ongoing conflicts between the pharmaceutical industry and the government regulators the short-lived Reagan reforms of Medicare benefits the impact of managed care on the pharmaceutical marketplace Including powerful behind-the-scenes accounts, Prescription Drugs Under Medicare provides hard-to-find information and lucid analyses of this hotly debated subject. Pharmaceutical executives, medical economists, and policymakers will be fascinated by the story of how the stage was set for the congressional debates occurring in 2001.

Thanks to remarkable advances in modern health care attributable to science, engineering, and medicine, it is now possible to cure or manage illnesses that were long deemed untreatable. At the same time, however, the United States is facing the vexing challenge of a seemingly uncontrolled rise in the cost of health care. Total medical expenditures are rapidly approaching 20 percent of the gross domestic product and are crowding out other priorities of national importance. The use of increasingly expensive prescription drugs is a significant part of this problem, making the cost of biopharmaceuticals a serious national concern with broad political implications. Especially with the highly visible and very large price increases for prescription drugs that have occurred in recent years, finding a way to make prescription medicinesâ€"and health care at largeâ€"more affordable for everyone has become a socioeconomic imperative. Affordability is a complex function of factors, including not just the prices of the drugs themselves, but also the details of an individual's insurance coverage and the number of medical conditions that an individual or family confronts. Therefore, any solution to the affordability issue will require considering all of these factors together. The current high and increasing costs of prescription drugsâ€"coupled with the broader trends in overall health care costsâ€"is unsustainable to society as a whole. Making Medicines Affordable examines patient access to affordable and effective therapies, with emphasis on drug pricing, inflation in the cost of drugs, and insurance design. This report explores structural and policy factors influencing drug pricing, drug access programs, the emerging role of comparative effectiveness assessments in payment policies, changing finances of medical practice with regard to drug costs and reimbursement, and measures to prevent drug shortages and foster continued innovation in drug development. It makes recommendations for policy actions that could address drug price trends, improve patient access to affordable and effective treatments, and encourage innovations that address significant needs in health care.