Medicare Part D has helped seniors and people living with disabilities receive their prescriptions for a decade with 90 percent or more of beneficiaries reporting satisfaction with this part of their Medicare coverage.
Before Part D, fewer than 60 percent of Medicare beneficiaries had comprehensive prescription drug coverage, and now 90 percent have coverage through one of the 26 Part D plan choices available.
Monthly premiums for Part D coverage have remained stable throughout the decade and are now actually less than what was projected for 2017 while the generic utilization rate for beneficiaries steadily increased from 84 percent in 2013 to 86 percent in 2015. Taxpayers are also seeing the benefit of Medicare Part D as they are paying $349 billion less than initial 10-year projections.
Finally, beneficiaries are living longer, healthier lives thanks to Part D. Almost 200,000 Medicare beneficiaries have lived at least one year longer since Part D first started with an average increase of 3.3 years in longevity, with fewer hospital stays and less non-drug medical spending. That has cut down on overall health care spending.
