HHS touts ACA efforts to shrink Medicare donut hole

The Obama administration announced yesterday that in the first full year of the Affordable Care Act, Medicare beneficiaries saved $2.1 billion on prescription drugs as a result of a provision in the health reform law that closes the so-called Medicare Part D donut hole (Source: “Medicare savings for drugs top $2.1 billion,” McClatchy Newspapers via Columbus Dispatch, Feb. 3, 2012).

In 2010 beneficiaries who hit the coverage gap received a $250 rebate check under the ACA. In 2011, the law provided beneficiaries who hit the donut hole a 50 percent discount on covered brand-name drugs and a 7 percent discount on generics.

The law calls for the discounts to increase to 75 percent by 2020.