Beneficiary Out-of-Pocket Costs for Medicare Part D Prescription Drugs Dropped 40% in 2011

In 2011, 2.6 million Medicare Part D beneficiaries with high prescription drug costs spent 40% less out-of-pocket for their medications than in 2010. Those beneficiaries whose annual prescription costs hit the Part D cost-sharing threshold (generally referred to as "the donut hole") of $2,840 spent an average of $901 out-of-pocket (instead of $1,504 in 2010). This change in out-of-pocket payments was due to a provision of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) of 2010 that provided a subsidy and prescription discounts. Without the PPACA provisions, these Part D . . .