Policy & Advocacy

Enrollees' Perceptions of Medicare Part D
Why enrollees in the Medicare Part D prescription drug plan signed up, whether they have used the benefit yet and, if they have, how much they estimate they saved by doing so are examined in this Spring 2006 AARP telephone survey of a nationally representative sample of 1,514 age 65+ persons.

Pharmacists Support Generic Drug Substitution, But Need More Information to Advise Customers on The New Medicare Drug Benefit
Pharmacists and their customers could benefit from having more information to help them understand and compare the costs of prescription drugs, according to a new AARP study that looks at attitudes and practices regarding the use of generic drugs.

Prescription Drugs and Medicare Reform
Information and education are critical in bringing down drug costs.

Prescription Drugs Used by Older Americans
Changes in manufacturer's prices for the prescription drugs most widely used by Americans age 50+ are investigated in this series of AARP Public Policy Institute (PPI) reports by Clifford Binder, Leigh Gross, and David J. Gross of PPI, Stephen W. Schondelmeyer of the PRIME Institute of the University of Minnesota, and Susan O. Raetzman of PPI.

Public Policies Priorities: Health Care and Supportive Services
Learn about AARP's stance on public policy priorities regarding health care and supportive services.

Rx Prices: How AARP is Fighting for You
Find out how hard AARP is fighting for you against soaring prescription drug prices and how you can help.

The Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit: Potential Impact on Beneficiaries
Under the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003, Medicare will offer prescription drug coverage to beneficiaries who choose to enroll in the Part D benefit, beginning in 2006. The potential impact of this benefit overall--and with respect to specific categories of beneficiaries--is examined in this AARP Public Policy Institute Issue Paper by Jack Rodgers and John Stell of Health Policy Economics at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Trends in Manufacturer Prices of Prescription Drugs Used by Older Americans
Changes in manufacturer's prices for the prescription drugs most widely used by Americans age 50+ are investigated in this series of AARP Public Policy Institute (PPI) reports by Clifford Binder, Leigh Gross, and David J. Gross of PPI, Stephen W. Schondelmeyer of the PRIME Institute of the University of Minnesota, and Susan O. Raetzman of PPI.

Why AARP Said “Yes” to Medicare Prescription Drug Bill
AARP supported this legislation because it will provide important prescription drug coverage and financial relief for millions of current and future Medicare beneficiaries.

Why AARP Supports Evidence-Based Research
Better information leads to better decision making.

Wise Use Shows Results
America spent $188.5 billion on prescription drugs in 2004. That represents an 8.2 percent increase over the total prescription drug bill in 2003, the lowest growth in spending in more than a decade according to data recently released by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).