An assessment of beneficiary knowledge of Medicare coverage options and the prescription drug benefit
- Collection:
- Health Policy and Services Research
- Contributor(s):
- Hibbard, Judith. Greene, Jessica. Tusler, Martin. AARP (Organization) Public Policy Institute (AARP (Organization))
- Publication:
- Washington, D.C. : AARP Public Policy Institute, c2006
- Language(s):
- English
- Format:
- Text
- Subject(s):
- Choice Behavior Decision Making Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice Insurance, Pharmaceutical Services Medicare Part D Aged Aged, 80 and over Educational Status Insurance Benefits Insurance Coverage Humans United States
- Genre(s):
- Technical Report
- Abstract:
- Medicare beneficiaries are now eligible to enroll in Medicare Part D, the new, voluntary prescription drug benefit. Beneficiaries have to weigh the costs and benefits of enrolling during the initial start-up period or pay a financial penalty for enrolling at a later date unless they have "creditable" coverage from another source. Those electing coverage face a choice among numerous prescription drug plans whose benefits, premiums, and cost-sharing charges, and formularies vary. The large number of offerings that have emerged means that beneficiaries will likely have to expend considerable effort to make an informed choice. In addition to having to consider a large number of drug plans, people on Medicare face many choices of coverage options for medical and hospital services; each of these options has implications for premiums, out-of-pocket costs, choice of providers, and benefits, including prescription drug coverage. Making informed choices involves matching one's needs and preferences with an appropriate option. In the case of Medicare coverage options and prescription drug plans (PDPs), this means understanding not only each of the many options, but also how the differences might affect costs, access to services, and benefits. The purpose of this study is to answer the following research questions: (1) How knowledgeable are beneficiaries about Medicare Part D? How knowledgeable are beneficiaries about the differences between the fee-for-service Medicare program (FFS Medicare) and Medicare Advantage (MA) plans? (2) What factors contribute to differences in knowledge levels? (3) What are the characteristics of the people who express confusion and stress over making Medicare Part D decisions? (4) What are Medicare beneficiaries' intentions with regard to enrolling in a PDP? Further, the study assesses the role patient activation, selected socioeconomic characteristics, and current prescription drug use and coverage play in predicting beneficiary knowledge, attitudes about information seeking, and intentions to elect Part D coverage. It also helps to assess whether health literacy is related to Medicare knowledge levels.
- Copyright:
- Reproduced with permission of the copyright holder. Further use of the material is subject to CC BY-NC-ND license. (More information)
- Extent:
- viii, 48 p.
- Illustrations:
- Illustrations
- NLM Unique ID:
- 101473755 (See catalog record)
- Permanent Link:
- http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/101473755