PhRMA study finds success in Medicare Part D

The analysis is one of the first since the launch of the drug benefit to use actual prescription usage data.

By David Glendinning, AMNews staff. Oct. 15, 2007.

Washington -- Seniors who did not have prescription drug coverage before enrolling in Medicare's drug benefit filled nearly twice as many prescriptions and cut their out-of-pocket costs nearly in half after signing up, according to a new report sponsored by drug manufacturers.

The study compared drug use and spending in the year before the benefit with use and spending in the benefit's first year among tens of thousands of seniors who had no drug coverage before Part D began. Beneficiaries in this group filled an average of 1.7 prescriptions per month in 2005. The figure jumped to 3.3 prescriptions per month after the benefit launched in 2006, found the analysis, commissioned by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America.

Even with the increased use, average out-of-pocket drug spending by the seniors declined by an average of 45% over that same time period.

The data show that Medicare Part D is working the way that Congress intended, said Richard Smith, PhRMA's senior vice president of policy. "It's offering seniors better access to care and to more affordable care."

Seniors with certain medical conditions seem to have benefited the most from the improved access to drugs. Beneficiaries who took medications for such conditions as diabetes, hypertension, and neurological and psychological disorders significantly increased the number of prescriptions they filled. Low-income Part D enrollees who received additional financial support from Medicare appeared to improve their medication adherence the most.