Medicare drug competition offers seniors direct financial benefits Under the new rule, seniors enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans (Part C) who have also signed up for prescription drug coverage under Part D will now be able to benefit from competition among a broader range of medicines.
The new rule allows Medicare Advantage plans to use “step therapy” under which seniors might start with an oral drug paid for by Part D, if it’s of equal clinical value but lower cost, and then step to a more expensive injectable drug if the first medicine fails to work. Insurers would be required to return at least half of the savings to seniors, possibly in the form of those Visa gift cards often sold in grocery stores and pharmacies.
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