Part D plan enrollment by uninsured medicare beneficiaries.

OBJECTIVES: The objective of the study was to examine the patient factors and medication acquisition strategies that impacted PDP enrollment in early 2006 by Medicare beneficiaries without prior drug coverage.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND SUBJECTS: A retrospective cohort study identified 2282 Medicare beneficiaries without prior drug coverage from the 2005 Access to Care Module of the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey.

MEASURES: Bivariate statistics (eg, chi and t-tests) were used to compare beneficiaries without drug coverage in 2005 who enrolled or did not enroll in a PDP in early 2006. A logistic regression was estimated to examine which patient factors were associated with PDP enrollment, controlling for demographic, socioeconomic, and health status variables, as well as medication purchasing strategies and size of the PDP choice set.

RESULTS: In early 2006, 44% of Medicare beneficiaries without prior drug coverage enrolled in a standalone PDP. Beneficiaries without prior drug coverage were more likely to enroll if they were younger (age 65-74), female, non-Hispanic white, married or widowed, had more self-reported conditions, requested prescription drug samples from their provider, or compared medication prices prior to purchase. Seniors without prior drug coverage were less likely to enroll if they had incomes <$50,000 or obtained medication via mail or the internet.

CONCLUSIONS: Enrollment in PDPs by beneficiaries without prior drug coverage was fairly low in early 2006, and vulnerable subgroups of these beneficiaries who did not enroll require follow-up to ensure that they realized the benefits of the Medicare Part D program.