Medicare Part D's progress so far
The roll-out of Part D in January 2006 represented a significant leap forward, since it provided coverage for outpatient drugs for Medicare patients for the first time. A high number of both patients and insurance providers are now involved in the program, as a result of strong patient enrollment.
Uptake into Part D has been strong, and despite the size and complexity of the program, patient satisfaction has been relatively high. The program faced a number of teething problems during roll-out, which have largely been resolved (e.g. IT issues); however, there are still a number of issues that haven't been remedied.
A significant factor to impact Part D is the way that plan providers have handled patients covered by both Medicare and Medicaid. Providing these 'dual eligibles' with adequate coverage has been a significant challenge, particularly during the roll-out of the program.
The choice facing Part D beneficiaries about where to source drugs when they enter the gap in coverage in Part D programs (termed the donut hole) is also impacting plan providers and patients, since patient choice in this situation has a significant impact on market dynamics.
