Studies & Resources

 

A Data Book: Health Care Spending and the Medicare Program (June 2015)
The MedPAC Data Book provides information on national health care and Medicare spending as well as Medicare beneficiary demographics, dual-eligible beneficiaries, quality of care in the Medicare program, and Medicare beneficiary and other payer liability. It also examines provider settings-such as hospitals and post-acute care-and presents data on Medicare spending, beneficiaries' access to care in the setting (measured by the number of beneficiaries using the service, number of providers, volume of services, length of stay, or through direct surveys), and the sector's Medicare profit margins, if applicable. In addition, it covers the Medicare Advantage program and prescription drug coverage for Medicare beneficiaries, including Part D.

 

Community Oncology Cancer Care Practice Impact Report
The Community Oncology Alliance (COA) has developed a tracking database on the adverse impact of Medicare reimbursement on community oncology practices. The database is compiled from private and public sources. Included in this report are a table of impacted practices by state and a map depicting the impact.

 

The Impact of Medicare Premiums on Social Security Beneficiaries
Medicare's trustees project that premiums for Parts B and D will grow at a faster rate than average Social Security benefits in the future, thus consuming a greater proportion of benefits over time and Medicare premiums are absorbing a growing share of Social Security benefits. The Social Security Administration (SSA) has announced that there will be no Social Security cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) in 2010, and both SSA and the Congressional Budget Office predict that there will be no COLA in 2011. Over the same period, total Medicare Part B program costs and premiums are expected to increase.

 

Cost of Cancer Care: Issues and Implications
Oncology has not been spared from issues related to medical technology costs particularly because the tremendous scientific progress that has lead to new tools for diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up of our patients. This study frames a debate about health policy concerns that influence the clinical practice of oncology, which requires the review of the macroeconomic principles and individual behaviors that govern medical spending, and examines how cost disproportionately affects various populations.

 

Report To The Congress: Impact of the Changes in Medicare Payments for Part B Drugs (January 2007)
The Congress directed the Commission to study the effect of these changes on beneficiary access and quality of care. The January 2007 report studies the effects of the payment changes on drug administration services provided by urologists, rheumatologists, and infectious disease specialists. These specialties provide physician-administered drugs in their offices, although none provided the same quantity of drugs or derived as large a share of Medicare revenue from administering drugs as oncologists.

 

Medicare payments for outpatient drugs under Part B
The Medicare payment method is flawed for Medicare-covered outpatient drugs and policymakers are considering how to change the current system. This report examines payment methods that other public and private purchasers have developed for physician-administered drugs and analyzes the alternatives suggested by the policy community. Several variants of benchmarking methods and combination approaches are also possible. While each method has advantages and disadvantages, any one of these alternatives would be a significant improvement over the current payment system.

 

Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate: Medicare Prescription Drug and Modernization Act of 2003 and Prescription Drug and Medicare Improvement Act of 2003 (HR. 1 and S. 1)
H.R. 1 and S. 1 both would create a voluntary, federally subsidized outpatient prescription drug benefit under a new Part D of the Medicare program; with additional federal subsidies for drug coverage offered to certain low-income Medicare beneficiaries. In addition, the two acts would make changes to the current Medicare+Choice (M+C) program; expand and alter the payment structures for Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) benefits; modify Medicare's regulatory process; and establish a new agency within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that would administer the programs created under the acts.

 

 


 

Our Mission

 

Medicare represents a promise made to Americans that they will have access to quality affordable health care as they age or if they become disabled. The Partnership to Protect Medicare formed in 2011 to make sure that promise is kept for those Medicare beneficiaries who rely on life changing treatments and cures delivered through Medicare Part B.

 

Supported by patient advocacy organizations, medical providers and leaders in the health care industry, our mission is to fight experimental changes that will reduce, and in some cases eliminate, access to critical care for some of Medicare's most vulnerable patients. Through a variety of advocacy efforts, we seek to call attention to the impact of modifications to Medicare Part B on beneficiaries and to ensure that the government does not implement changes that could hurt Medicare recipients.