Health-Care Reform Returns Surprising $1.5 Billion Medicare Savings
Medicare, the government program infamous for its waste and abuse, provided some unexpected news on Tuesday: $1.5 billion in savings on prescription drugs.
by Daniel Stone
December 7, 2011
Medicare may be the poster child for a bloated government program, prone to waste by federal agencies and constant abuse by medical-service providers. But the White House is finally getting to crow about some good news: the program actually saved money.
Over the past year and a half, Medicare has saved government health-care recipients an average of $569, the administration announced Tuesday, which collectively totals about $1.5 billion in savings on prescription-drug costs. A surprising number, about 24 million people covered by Medicare, also took advantage of a free annual checkup that the law provided.
The savings resulted from the closing of the so-called doughnut hole, a component of Medicare’s prescription-drug program that covered most of the cost of medication up to $2,800, and then again for all drugs over $4,550. Everything between the two numbers would have to be paid by the person who was covered, leading to high costs.
“Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, millions of Americans are receiving free preventive services and getting cheaper prescription drugs.”
Under President Obama’s Affordable Care Act, better known as his health-care-reform package, which has been vocally opposed by Republicans, drug makers were required to offer all drugs in the doughnut hole—any that fell within the $2,800-to-$4,550 range—to be sold at a 50 percent discount, which has led to the savings.
“Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, millions of Americans are receiving free preventive services and getting cheaper prescription drugs,” Marilyn Tavenner, the interim administrator of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said in a statement Tuesday...
For the full article, go to:
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/12/07/health-care-reform-returns-surprising-1-5-billion-medicare-savings.html
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