Hawaii residents on Medicare saved last year more than $26 million on prescription drug costs, according to a report issued Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Health &Human Services.
Hawaii residents on Medicare saved last year more than $26 million on prescription drug costs, according to a report issued Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Health &Human Services.
The savings came as the result of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, working to counteract the Medicare Part D prescription drug “donut hole” — a gap in coverage in which beneficiaries must pay the full cost of their prescriptions before catastrophic coverage takes effect.
In 2010, beneficiaries who reached the gap received a $250 rebate. And beginning in 2011, beneficiaries in the donut hole began receiving discounts on covered brand-name drugs and savings on generic drugs. People with Medicare Part D who fall into the donut hole in 2015 will receive discounts and savings of 55 percent on the cost of brand-name drugs and 35 percent on the cost of generic drugs. The gap will close by 2020, with 2015 marking the halfway point in its closure.
According to the report, 24,137 Medicare beneficiaries in Hawaii saved a total of $26,226,370 in 2014. The average beneficiary saved $1,087.
All told, the health law has saved Hawaii residents more than $69.5 million since being enacted in 2010.
“Use of preventive services under the health care law has also expanded among people with Medicare,” said Health &Human Services spokesman Alexander Kotran. “In Hawaii, an estimated 150,186 people with Medicare (including those enrolled in Medicare Advantage) took advantage of at least one preventive service with no cost sharing in 2014.”
According to Health &Human Services, 9.4 million Medicare beneficiaries across the country have saved more than $15 billion on prescription drugs since 2010 — averaging out to $1,598 per person.
“In 2014 alone, nearly 5.1 million seniors and people with disabilities saved $4.8 billion or an average of $941 per beneficiary,” the release states.
Email Colin M. Stewart at cstewart@hawaiitribune-herald.com.