Medicare Part D: Employers' concerns and future plans




Pharmacy Benefits Podcast show

Summary: Much of the news coverage about Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage deals with eligible senior citizens not being able to get the drugs or the coverage they need. But beyond those more visible problems, according to Brian Bullock, president and CEO of The Burchfield Group, “there’s a real set of issues that employers need to be concerned about related to the Medicare Part D.” The Burchfield Group, a pharmacy benefit consulting firm that helps employers control the cost of providing prescription drug coverage for their employees, tackles employers’ Medicare Part D concerns in the most recent installment of its Pharmacy Benefits Podcast. In today’s podcast, Bullock and his colleague Rob Shelley, vice president of The Burchfield Group, discuss what they have learned from their own research and from executives on the front lines – those who are wrestling with Part D coverage options for their retirees. “As we look ahead to Part D’s second year, employers are still without the knowledge and infrastructure necessary to help them make the best decisions,” Shelley said. “Employers are left in a tough spot, with only a few months of experience to guide their Part D programs for the next year or two.” Employers who provide prescription drug coverage for their retirees need to know if they are leaving money on the table by making bad decisions or by not considering administrative and other costs, Bullock said. In the early months of Medicare Part D implementation, employers need to be concerned with what they are getting from their Part D programs, whether the choices they made are performing as expected, and whether another coverage option would perform more effectively. “Opting to receive subsidy payments from the federal government, for example, certainly provides a significant amount of reimbursement, but it doesn’t provide the same level of reimbursement that a prescription drug plan option offers,” Shelley said. “The overhead to operate and manage in a subsidy environment, however, is a lot less expensive. Employers need to balance these and other factors in deciding the right coverage path for them.” Brian invites his podcast listeners to submit questions and comments, which he and Shelley will address in future podcasts. Send an e-mail to bbullock@burchfieldgroup.com or call 651-389-5640 with questions or to learn more about making the right Medicare Part D decisions. Visit www.burchfieldgroup.com for more information.