Click here to watch the Facebook live event that took place on Thursday, September 28, 2023
Guest Speakers:
Thair Phillips
Seniors Speak Out Spokesperson
Matt Monday
Morning Consult
They discussed:
- Results from the annual Senior Satisfaction Survey
- Seniors’ satisfaction with Medicare plans
- Seniors’ concerns with government price-setting provisions
- Access to innovative and lifesaving treatments
Overwhelming Majority in Morning Consult Survey Say They Prefer Current Medicare Part D Drug Pricing System Over Government Setting Prices
WASHINGTON – A nationwide survey of Americans 65 and older shows overwhelming satisfaction with the Medicare Part D prescription drug program in its current form, with two of every three seniors saying they believe price negotiations should remain in the hands of private sector insurers rather than having the federal government determining drug prices and availability.
The survey of 1,000 seniors, performed by Morning Consult on behalf of the Medicare Today coalition, found that 91 percent of Medicare beneficiaries are satisfied with their current Part D prescription drug coverage, with 86 percent saying their plan provides good value and their monthly premiums are affordable.
Healthcare Leadership Council president and Medicare Today chair Mary R. Grealy said policymakers should pay attention to these results in determining how to ensure that the Part D program meets the needs of the nation’s seniors.
“Seniors are saying, in overwhelming numbers, that the Medicare Part D program is working extremely well for them in its current form. The beneficiary population has not been and is not calling for radical change in the pricing and accessibility of the medicines they need,” she said. “Before systemic changes in Medicare drug pricing are fully implemented, we still have time for Congress and the administration to fully consider what millions of beneficiaries want and need and avoid creating unnecessary upheaval to one of the federal government’s most popular and successful programs.”
Click here to watch the Facebook live event that took place on:
Thursday, June 15, 2023
Guest Speakers:
Thair Phillips
Seniors Speak Out
Mark Gibbbons
President and CEO of RetireSafe
They discussed:
– Results of latest survey
– Concerns about Medicare plans
– Impacts of recent healthcare policies
Click here to watch the Facebook Live Event that took place on:
Tuesday, April 18
Guest Speakers:
Thair Phillips
Seniors Speak Out
Newt Gingrich
Former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives
They discussed:
– Threats to medical innovation and access
– Seniors’ satisfaction with Medicare plans
– Inflation Reduction Act implementation
Click here to watch the Facebook Live Event that took place on:
Thursday, February 16
Guest Speakers:
Thair Phillips
Seniors Speak Out
Shalla Ross
President of The Ross Group, LLC
They discussed:
- How new Congressional legislative priorities and Biden administration policies would affect seniors’ healthcare
- Implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act
Click here to watch the Facebook Live Event that took place on:
Thursday, November 17
Guest Speakers
Thair Phillips
Seniors Speak Out
&
Debbie Witchey
Healthcare Leadership Council’s EVP
They discussed:
– 2023 Medicare Open Enrollment
– Post-Election Healthcare Check-In Survey Results
Click here to watch the Facebook Live Event that took place on:
Thursday, September 15
Guest Speakers:
Matt Monday
Morning Consult
Thair Phillips
Seniors Speak Out
They discussed:
– 2022 Senior Satisfaction Survey Results
– Importance of protecting Medicare Part D for seniors
WASHINGTON – As Congress deliberates transformative changes to the pricing and accessibility of prescription drugs in Medicare Part D, the program remains extraordinarily popular among America’s seniors, according to a survey released today by Medicare Today. The nationwide survey of 1000 seniors, conducted by Morning Consult, found that 88 percent of senior enrollees are satisfied with their Part D coverage and 86 percent agree that their plan is a great value. The chair of Medicare Today said this survey should be viewed by lawmakers as a message that older Americans don’t want radical changes to a program that works well for them.
The survey results come at a time in which reliable access to a wide range of medications through the Part D program is uncertain. A proposed budget reconciliation bill would give the federal government unprecedented price-setting powers within the drug benefit program, which has operated since its inception through a structure of private sector price negotiations between drug manufacturers and Part D plans. Seniors, in addition to having overwhelming satisfaction with their coverage, also do not support federal involvement in Medicare drug pricing, once they learn of its potential impact on access and choice of prescription medicines.
Key findings in the survey include:
- Two-in-three Part D enrollees said prescription drug plans should negotiate prices directly with the biopharmaceutical manufacturers instead of letting government set prices and determining which drugs will be covered under Part D formularies.
- 83 percent of seniors are concerned that federal involvement in pricing could reduce choice and options for prescription drugs for seniors and individuals with disabilities in the Medicare program.
- 82 percent of seniors are concerned government price setting policies would limit access to newer prescription medicines.
- 81 percent said it is important to them to have a variety of plans from which to compare and choose.
More findings from the survey can be found here.
Click here to watch the Facebook Live Event that took place on Wednesday, June 1st
Guest Speakers:
Pam Traxel
American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network
Thair Phillips
former President and CEO of RetireSafe
They discussed:
• Cancer prevention, screening and treatment
• Clinical trial diversity
• Importance of protecting cancer treatment research & development
This report reflects mainly positive news and hopeful trends among Seniors as they relate to the COVID-19 pandemic. Following Omicron, more recent and sustained declines in both cases and hospitalizations appear to be registering among older adults.
Click to access the SENIOR HEALTH LIVING SURVEY BY SILVERSNEAKERS
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