With the majority of seniors favoring preferred pharmacy plans as part of Medical Part D this year, the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA) said it just goes to show eliminating the program is a bad idea.
As of Dec. 4, enrollment in preferred pharmacy Part D plans was at 15.4 million people, according to a recent survey by Drug Channels. The discount pharmacy plan was selected by 81 percent of seniors receiving Medicare coverage.
"Preferred pharmacy plans are now the foundation of Medicare Part D," PCMA President and CEO Mark Merritt said. "Last year (the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) defused a bipartisan uproar by withdrawing its proposal to overhaul Part D and promising Congress to end its pursuit of 'controversial' requirements that put preferred pharmacy plans and other benefits at risk."
Approximately 67,000 drugstores nationwide are included in the Part D pharmacy network. The PCMA said another survey recently conducted by Hart Research Associations found that 9 out of 10 seniors have convenient access to one of these stores.
An acturial study conducted by Oliver Wyman for the PCMA also found that eliminating preferred pharmacy plans from Medicare Part D would result in increased costs of approximately $24 billion over the next 10 years.
Ultimately, the PCMA said keeping preferred pharmacy plans will reduce Medicare Part D costs up to $9.3 billion over 10 years.
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