Drug Costs Under Medicare Part D Makes Some Patients Skip Treatment

clipped from health.usnews.com Having Medicare makes someone less likely to go without food to pay for medicine, but the sickest patients are still skipping medications because of costs, a new report says. The three-year-old Medicare Part D benefit, which provides drug benefits to seniors, has led to some improvements but nothing revolutionary, according to the study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. "This study reveals that the federal government has more work to do to assure that the Medicare Part D program meets the needs of the most vulnerable Medicare beneficiaries," Gail Shearer, director of health policy analysis at Consumers Union, told HealthDay. "It is unacceptable that the sickest beneficiaries may not be filling prescriptions or taking the full doses or courses of their medicines because they simply can't afford to."