Does Medicare Part D Protect the Elderly from Financial Risk?

The brief’s key findings are:

• The Medicare Part D prescription drug program covers a large percentage of the elderly and their prescription costs.

• Strikingly, as of 2007, about 70 percent of the program’s enrollees already had drug coverage before joining Part D.

• Similarly, about 75 percent of Part D spending substituted for spending by private insurance or individuals.

• A full assessment of Part D’s overall social impact requires further research.