Drugs are an essential part of good medical treatment. But the group that relies on prescription drugs the most - Americans over 65 - is the least likely to have drug coverage to help with the cost. Medicare doesn't cover prescription drugs. Why is drug coverage so important?
According to a 1998 Wall Street Journal poll, 80% of retirees use a prescription drug every day. The average Medicare beneficiary fills a prescription 18 times a year.
While 70% of Medicare beneficiaries have some type of drug coverage, it's often inadequate, being cut back, or becoming more and more expensive each year.
Many people who have drug coverage don't have continuous coverage - nearly half of Medicare beneficiaries lack drug coverage at some point during the year.
Americans age 65 and older account for over 40% of all drug spending, but represent only 12% of the population.
According to a national employer survey, approximately 99% of employer-sponsored health plans offered outpatient drug coverage to current workers in 2000.
Only 3 of the 10 standardized Medigap plans offer drug coverage, and fewer than 10% of beneficiaries who purchased standardized plans have one with drug coverage.
In 2000, 86% of Medicare+Choice plans had annual dollar caps on brand and/or generic drugs. Twenty-one per cent of those plans had a cap of $500 or less. Most plans charged copays for prescription drugs with the average copay for brand name and generic drugs estimated to have increased 21% and 8% respectively between 1999 and 2000.
While an estimated 66% of large employers offered retiree health coverage in 1988, fewer than 40% did so in 2000. Of those employers who offered retiree benefits to Medicare-eligible retirees in 2000, 21% did not offer drug coverage.
Average out-of-pocket drug costs for all Medicare beneficiaries in 2000 were estimated to be $480.
