Kaiser Family Foundation Releases Report on Medicare Drug Benefit’s Effect on HIV-Positive Beneficiaries
"The Role of Part D for People With HIV/AIDS: Coverage and Cost of Antiretrovirals Under Medicare Drug Plans," Kaiser Family Foundation: The foundation on Thursday released a report that examines the implications of the private, stand-alone Medicare prescription drug plans for HIV-positive people. Medicare covers about 19% of HIV-positive people in the U.S. who are receiving HIV/AIDS treatment and accounts for the second-largest share of federal spending on HIV/AIDS, according to the report. The report finds that all Part D drug plans cover approved antiretroviral drugs but that they do not necessarily cover all formulations of each antiretroviral. In addition, the report looks at how beneficiaries' costs for antiretrovirals vary across plans and examines the implications of the "doughnut hole" -- the gap in coverage during which beneficiaries are responsible for 100% of total prescription drug costs between $2,250 and $5,100 -- for HIV-positive people (Kaiser Family Foundation release, 8/3).
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