The Centers for Medicare & Medicare Services (CMS) recently announced that as Medicare’s Part D prescription drug program enters its fourth year, beneficiary satisfaction rates remain high, program costs remain lower than originally expected, and Medicare prescription drug plan bids reflect nationwide drug price trends. Based on the bids submitted by Part D plans, CMS estimates that the average monthly premium beneficiaries will pay for standard Part D coverage in 2009 will be $28. This is about 37 percent lower than originally projected when the benefit was established in 2003.

The estimated average monthly premium for 2009 of roughly $28 for basic coverage is far below the original estimate for 2009 of $44.12, which was made at the time the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act (MMA) was enacted in 2003. The average expected premium for basic coverage in 2009 is about $3 higher than the actual average for 2008. The $3 premium increase is due to general trends in drug costs, the phase-out of a CMS demonstration project, and higher plan estimates for catastrophic coverage based on prior experience.

In addition to average premiums for 2009, CMS has announced the:

This data may be found at: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/MedicareAdvtgSpecRateStats/RSD/list.asp .

To read the CMS Press release issued on August 14, 2008, go to: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/apps/media/press_releases.asp .