From KFF: For More Info, Go Here…
Despite Medicare’s protections, Part D enrollees with serious health conditions can face thousands of dollars in annual out-of-pocket costs for expensive specialty drugs, a new KFF anaylsis finds.
The analysis draws on data from Medicare’s Plan Finder website to calculate expected annual 2019 costs for more than two dozen specialty tier drugs used to treat four health conditions — cancer, hepatitis C, multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis – based on coverage and costs in national and near-national stand-alone drug plans, using a pharmacy in Baltimore, MD. It found that expected median out-of-pocket costs for Part D enrollees not receiving low-income subsidies would range from $2,622 for Zepatier (for hepatitis C) to $16,551 for Idhifa (for leukemia) in 2019.
