According to a multidisciplinary study from USC, Medicare Part D plans have significantly increased restrictions on prescription drugs, excluding more compounds from coverage or subjecting more of them to review before patients could access the treatments.

The results, published in Health Affairs, showed that the share of drug compounds that was restricted or excluded by Part D plans surged from an average of 31.9% in 2011 to 44.4% in 2020.

Provided through private insurance plans that contract with the government, Medicare Part D is a prescription drug benefit for people with Medicare. In 2023, more than 50 million of the 65 million people covered by Medicare were enrolled in Part D plans, according to KFF.

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