January 18, 2003 - Providing evidence of eroding benefits in the Medicare+Choice managed care program, this new study finds that enrollees' average plan premiums and other out-of-pocket costs rose 10 percent in 2003 to $1,964, more than double what they were in 1999.
Issue Brief
December 1, 2002 - While New York has one of the largest and most effective senior drug assistance programs in the country, nearly one of five seniors residing in the state in 2001 had no coverage for medications, according to this report.
Fund Report
November 1, 2002 - This update on Medicare+Choice reports that, while Medicare+Choice plans cut back on benefits such as prescription drug coverage in 2002, enrollees faced a 40 percent rise in monthly premiums and substantial cost-sharing increases for their health care.
Fund Report
November 1, 2002 - Taking its cue from the weak economy and diminished federal budget, this report outlines modest policy options for improving the cost-sharing structure of Medicare to reduce financial burdens on the sickest beneficiaries.
Fund Report
November 1, 2002 - Medicare+Choice plans cut back on benefits such as prescription drug coverage in 2002 while enrollees faced a 40 percent rise in monthly premiums and substantial cost-sharing increases for their health care.
Issue Brief
October 1, 2002 - This report outlines steps that states are taking to modify the Medicare Savings Programs asset tests to ensure that the neediest beneficiaries receive financial assistance.
Fund Report
October 1, 2002 - Findings from The Commonwealth Fund 2001 Health Insurance Survey show that Medicare outperforms private sector plans in terms of patients' satisfaction with quality of care, access to care, and overall insurance ratings.
In the Literature
September 30, 2002 - This field report argues that, five years later, Medicare+Choice has not become what program proponents had envisioned. While it was originally forecast that program enrollment would rise to 34 percent of total Medicare enrollment by 2005, the enrollment has now fallen from its 1997 level of 14 percent to just 13 percent.
Fund Report
September 1, 2002 - The nation's 5 million disabled Medicare beneficiaries under age 65 face a daunting combination of low income, poor health status, heavy prescription drug use, and high medication bills.
Fund Report
September 1, 2002 - The relatively successful five-year track record of the M+C program in New York City is due both to payment rates to health plans that are among the highest in the nation and plans' ability to negotiate favorable rates from the city's large supply of competing physicians and hospitals that continue to contract with HMOs. According to the authors, however, four factors indicate that these conditions are likely to change, suggesting future instability in New York City's M+C market.
Fund Report
September 1, 2002 - This field report compares the 2002 benefit packages of Medicare+Choice plans to assess the degree of regional disparities among benefit packages. The authors find wide variations in out-of-pocket costs for Medicare+Choice enrollees depending on where beneficiaries live.
Fund Report
August 8, 2002 - Based on a Commonwealth Fund survey of health insurance in the workplace, this issue brief finds that two of five workers experienced increases in their premiums or cost-sharing, or both, during 2001. Although public support for job-based health insurance remains strong, many workers are not confident that employers will continue to offer coverage to them down the road. Workers are even more uncertain about their ability to get good health care in the future.
Issue Brief
August 1, 2002 - This field report, based on research cofunded by The Commonwealth Fund and the California Wellness Foundation, examines the effects of Medicare+Choice, created by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, on Medicare beneficiaries in four managed care markets.
Fund Report
July 2, 2002 - A survey of seniors in eight states finds nearly one-quarter of seniors report skipping doses of medicine or not filling prescriptions because of costs. Close to one of four seniors report spending at least $100 per month on their prescription medicines in 2001.
Fund Report
July 1, 2002 - In this policy brief, the authors suggest that a modest Medicare prescription drug benefit could be crafted that provides some coverage to all beneficiaries while protecting those with low incomes and high out-of-pocket expenses.
Issue Brief