Medicaid prescription drug coverage for approximately 6 million "dual eligibles"--low-income seniors and persons with disabilities who are covered by both Medicaid and Medicare--accounts for nearly half of all Medicaid spending on prescription drugs, including both federal and state shares of Medicaid prescription costs.

In the Commonwealth Fund issue brief, State Medicaid Prescription Drug Expenditures for Medicare-Medicaid Dual Eligibles, Stacy Berg Dale and James M. Verdier, both of Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., estimate that Medicaid spent $16 billion on prescription drug coverage in 2002 for the 6 million dual eligibles. This comes to an average of more than $2,800 per year per beneficiary--ranging from just under $2,000 a year per enrollee in New Mexico to nearly $4,000 a year per enrollee in Connecticut. Current proposals in Congress to cover prescription drugs under Medicare could provide major fiscal relief to state Medicaid programs. Seniors with low incomes could also gain improved access to prescription drugs, with a more uniform basic benefit set by Medicare.

Issue Brief:
http://www.cmwf.org/publist/publist2.asp?CategoryID=9

Press Release:
http://www.cmwf.org/media/releases/dale627_release04082003.asp?link=11