Examining Sources of Coverage Among Medicare Beneficiaries: Supplemental Insurance, Medicare Advantage, and Prescription Drug Coverage

Provides 2006 data on Medicare enrollees' supplemental and drug coverage. Compares traits of Medicare Advantage enrollees to those of fee-for-service Medicare enrollees, and examines drug coverage and subsidy status among low-income beneficiaries

e-Health and the Elderly: How Seniors Use the Internet for Health

Presents findings from a survey that examines how seniors use the Internet to look for information on doctors, research prescription drugs, find providers, manage their weight, follow health policy news, or look up the latest cancer treatments

Current Trends and Future Outlook for Retiree Health Benefits

Documents the increasing costs of retiree benefits for large private sector employers and their retirees. Looks at the response of large employers to the Medicare prescription drug law and the subsidies it provides for maintaining retiree drug coverage

Pitching Private Medicare Plans: An Analysis of Medicare Advantage and Prescription Drug Plan Advertising

Analyzes television, print, and radio ads for private Medicare plans to assess what types of information insurers emphasize and de-emphasize, what populations they target, and which type of plan they promote in trying to influence beneficiaries' choices

Physician–Patient Communication About Prescription Medication Nonadherence: A 50-state Study of America’s Seniors

CONTEXT: Understanding and improving the quality of medication management is particularly important in the context of the Medicare prescription drug benefit that took effect last January 2006. OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of physician–patient dialogue about medication cost and medication adherence among elderly adults nationwide. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey. PARTICIPANTS: National stratified random sample of community-dwelling Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 and older. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Rates of physician–patient dialogue about nonadherence and cost-related medication switching. RESULTS: Forty-one percent of seniors reported taking five or more prescription medications, and more than half has 2 or more prescribing physicians. Thirty-two percent overall and 24% of those with 3 or more chronic conditions reported not having talked with their doctor about all their different medicines in the last 12 months. Of seniors reporting skipping doses or stopping a medication because of side effects or perceived nonefficacy, 27% had not talked with a physician about it. Of those reporting cost-related nonadherence, 39% had not talked with a physician about it. Thirty-eight percent of those with cost-related nonadherence reported switching to a lower priced drug, and in a multivariable model, having had a discussion about drug cost was significantly associated with this switch (odds ratio [OR] 5.04, 95% confidence interval [CI] 4.28–5.93, P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: We show that there is a communication gap between seniors and their physicians around prescription medications. This communication problem is an important quality and safety issue, and takes on added salience as physicians and patients confront new challenges associated with coverage under new Medicare prescription drug plans. Meeting these challenges will require that more attention be devoted to medication management during all clinical encounters