Older adults willing to pay more in Medicare premiums to ensure cap on out of pocket drug costs

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Older adults willing to pay more in Medicare premiums to ensure cap on out of pocket drug costs
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New survey finds 1 in 5 adults who currently take prescription drugs struggle to pay for them each month; and three-quarters of all surveyed support legislation that places a cap on what seniors pay for prescription drugs in Medicare Part D.
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I agree with this position. Part D should have a cap on OOP expenses.

I would imagine with a cap copay's will increase significantly, especially on tier 3 and higher drugs.

I also wonder what will happen overall to prices if Congress tries to "fix" PDP. This graph shows a definite spike in drug expenditures right after Part D became available.

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10 Essential Facts About Medicare and Prescription Drug Spending

This is not unique to Part D. You see similar spikes when insurance is involved.
 
I agree with this position. Part D should have a cap on OOP expenses.

I would imagine with a cap copay's will increase significantly, especially on tier 3 and higher drugs.


Yes, I think you're right - copays for sure, and premiums might have to increase as well. They can't put a significant drug cost cap on a PDP company without it having to make up the loss from somewhere, but I think people could possibly justify some extra cost given the extra value of a cap. It would be nice if they could have both versions - one with the cap and one barebones plan without, but then only the ones with high pharmacy bills would buy the capped plans, making them unsustainable without big premium hikes.

Premium and copay increases could probably be minimized if a government fix could include the one thing they left out years ago, and that's squeezing the drug makers down to price levels the rest of the world is paying. That's my opinion anyway.
 
It would be nice if they could have both versions - one with the cap and one barebones plan without, but then only the ones with high pharmacy bills would buy the capped plans, making them unsustainable without big premium hikes.

You answered your own question.

Adverse selection.

squeezing the drug makers down to price levels the rest of the world is paying.

The Europeans and Canadians (as well as the rest of the world) are free-riding on the back of American medical innovators. European countries and Canada – our trading allies – impede access and set artificially low prices for prescription medicines. If U.S. companies refuse to acquiesce on prices, these foreign governments threaten to steal their patents by using compulsory licensing. It’s that simple: Europe and Canada refuse to pay their fair share forcing Americans to pay more.
America Needs to Stop Subsidizing Europe and Canada’s Prescription Drugs | RealClearPolitics
 
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