Reform effort could expand drug coverage, affordability

One impact of health insurance exchanges, proposed by Democrats as part of the health care overhaul, could be better prescription drug coverage for some consumers, the Los Angeles Times explains. The exchanges would require drug coverage as part of a minimum benefits package. The flip side is that some people may be forced to buy drug coverage they don't want. Drug plans offered through the exchanges would vary. Lower cost plans would probably have deductibles in the range of $100 to $250 a year, while more expensive options may have not deductibles at all.

The plan would also help seniors save on drugs: "The overhaul proposals in Congress improve the [Medicare] drug benefit by reducing the so-called coverage gap or doughnut hole that exists for recipients of Medicare Part D, which affects about 4 million seniors each year" (Oliphant and Geiger, 10/5).

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This article was reprinted from khn.org with permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent news service, is a program of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health care policy research organization unaffiliated with Kaiser Permanente.