April 2, 2010

Health Reform and Medicare: Closing the Doughnut Hole

Medicare Rights published their work on health reform and Medicare titled Health Reform and Medicare: Closing the Doughnut Hole in April 2010. This report shows the effects final health care reform package that closed the Part D "doughnut hole" - the gap in drug coverage plan in which people with Medicare must pay the full cost of their prescriptions out of pocket. The health care reform will close the "doughnut hole" by decreasing the consumer's share of drug costs until it reaches 25% in 2020 for both brand-name and generic drugs. However, the phasing out process works differently for brand-name and generic drugs. The charts included in this report show how the consumer will be affected by the final health care reform.