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HCFA Approves Drug Benefit Demonstration Program

Wed, 01/31/2001 - 12:00am — Karen Stevenson
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The Health Care Financing Administration today announced an extended and expanded demonstration project that will measure the efficiencies and economies resulting from providing Medicare payments to help support a pharmacy benefit to Medicare beneficiaries. The project will seek to demonstrate how providing, structuring and managing an outpatient prescription drug benefit will result in more economical and better utilized Medicare Part A and Part B services. HCFA is conducting the demonstration with the United Mine Workers of America Health and Retirement Funds, a Medicare partner since 1990.

As part of an expanded and extended demonstration project, HCFA will pay 27% of the annual cost of the Funds? prescription drug program.

"This demonstration will provide a unique opportunity for HCFA to test how providing, structuring and managing outpatient prescription drugs can contribute to providing traditional Medicare benefits more effectively and efficiently," said Robert A. Berenson, MD, HCFA Acting Deputy Administrator. "It also will attempt to prove that disease management models for certain chronically ill beneficiaries are cost effective."

"An added benefit of the demonstration is that we can learn how effective management of a pharmacy benefit will reduce Medicare spending, which is crucial for policy makers looking to provide a prescription drug benefit to all Medicare beneficiaries," said Berenson. "We've worked with UMWA's Funds for a decade and know firsthand of their expertise in managing health care for a chronically ill population as well as maintaining their unique data bases."

The Health Care Financing Administration today announced an extended and expanded demonstration project that will measure the efficiencies and economies resulting from providing Medicare payments to help support a pharmacy benefit to Medicare beneficiaries. The project will seek to demonstrate how providing, structuring and managing an outpatient prescription drug benefit will result in more economical and better utilized Medicare Part A and Part B services. HCFA is conducting the demonstration with the United Mine Workers of America Health and Retirement Funds, a Medicare partner since 1990.

As part of an expanded and extended demonstration project, HCFA will pay 27% of the annual cost of the Funds? prescription drug program.

"This demonstration will provide a unique opportunity for HCFA to test how providing, structuring and managing outpatient prescription drugs can contribute to providing traditional Medicare benefits more effectively and efficiently," said Robert A. Berenson, MD, HCFA Acting Deputy Administrator. "It also will attempt to prove that disease management models for certain chronically ill beneficiaries are cost effective."

"An added benefit of the demonstration is that we can learn how effective management of a pharmacy benefit will reduce Medicare spending, which is crucial for policy makers looking to provide a prescription drug benefit to all Medicare beneficiaries," said Berenson. "We've worked with UMWA's Funds for a decade and know firsthand of their expertise in managing health care for a chronically ill population as well as maintaining their unique data bases."