Ryan budget proposal calls for Medicare vouchers, Medicaid transformation

This week, U.S. lawmakers return to the task of crafting legislation that will reform the nation’s healthcare system. One study has found that a House reform proposal could eliminate the Medicare Part D “doughnut hole” by 2023.

While it will take more than a decade to fully eliminate, fewer and fewer beneficiaries will fall into that gap over the next several years, due to proposed gradual changes to initial benefit limits and annual out-of-pocket thresholds, according to Avalere Health. Those who will benefit most in the short-term are those seniors managing chronic conditions with multiple, non-biologic medications. The doughnut hole is a controversial gap in Medicare Part D coverage during which beneficiaries are responsible for the total cost of their prescription drugs.

Avalere’s analysis finds that, in the years just before the gap is fully closed, some beneficiaries may have to pay up to $16,000 for their prescriptions. For more information on the study, visit www.avalerehealth.net.