Study Anticipates Medicare Act

US business research firm FIND/SVP is partnering with healthcare informatics group Verispan to study the likely impact of the Medicare Modernization Act (MMA) on the US prescription market. The Act is due to be implemented next year.

The MMA will offer prescription coverage for people over 65, and is expected to significantly alter drug reimbursement rates and coverage. The study will involve telephone interviews with more than 4,000 patients aged 65 and above, and with 300 primary care physicians. The patients will provide a representative cross-section of the US 65+ population in terms of gender, age, geography, income and ethnicity.

Patients will be asked about their awareness of and reaction to the MMA, any current prescription details, and their intention to participate in the new program. Doctors will be asked about the Act's likely impact on their prescription habits, and any gaps they perceive in the Act's coverage.

The companies plan to produce estimates of the proportion of pharmaceutical companies' revenue that may be at risk when the MMA is implemented. They will offer summaries of the impact of the Act for each company and each major class of medication.

Morris Whitcup, President of the Advanced Analytics division of FIND/SVP, says the study 'will identify potential vulnerabilities for patients and pharmaceutical companies'. Jody Fisher, VP of Product Management, Verispan, says 'there is no more timely topic' in the healthcare industry. She says the timing of the study will allow the companies to 'capture much of the heightened sensitivity that the senior population and their providers will have towards drug prices'.

FIND/SVP's web site is at www.findsvp.com . Verispan is online at www.verispan.com

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.

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