Stacie Dusetzina Profile picture
Health services researcher at Vanderbilt Health Policy. Avid coffee drinker, investigator of drug policies & prices. RT not an endorsement. Opinions are mine.

Nov 14, 2022, 10 tweets

💊💊TWEETORIAL ALERT!! 💊💊
Because last week was a busy week for #insulin tweets, @KhrystaBaig and I have saved this Tweetorial for our new @JAMA_current paper for a...um...less busy time. AHEM, remember? 👇 Follow along, will you? 1/10

A little background before we dive into GIFs. While #insulin isn't free, it is only $35 on some plans in #PartD as part of the @CMSinnovates #SeniorSavings Model. But who saves money under this model? 2/10
jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/…

The #SeniorSavings Model allows plans to cover insulin at $35 copays with every fill. But in 2021 and 2022 you had to enroll into a plan to get $35 insulin. If you didn't pick a Model participating plan, you could have paid too much! 3/10

But, picking a plan is hard. People use information like
premiums (and sometimes deductibles) to choose between plans. We don't often think about the total costs of care over the year. 4/10

@KhrystaBaig and I found that in 2022 long-acting insulin users who picked a plan based on the premium would have spent more than people picking based on estimated total spending. 5/10

For beneficiaries wanting to stay within traditional Medicare, those switching into a #SeniorSavings plan could have saved an average of $800/year. For MA they could have saved up to $1,446. Someone switching from traditional to MA could save even more. 6/10

Starting in 2023 all #PartD plans will offer insulin at $35 (thanks, #InflationReductionAct)! BUT, premiums vary a LOT on these plans so if you use #insulin you should shop NOW! You could save a lot! 7/10

You can get some good tips here on plan shopping (shoutout to @Lisa_L_Gill and @ConsumerReports who are absolutely amazing and on top of your #PartD plan shopping needs!). 8/10
consumerreports.org/medicare/how-t…

Now, don't panic. Do go online and find a new plan. Again, it could save you a LOT of money. You could use the #PartD plan finder or go through your awesome #SHIP counselors 9/10:
medicare.gov/plan-compare/#…
shiphelp.org

HUGE SHOUT OUT to @KhrystaBaig who is the brainchild of this operation and one of our @VUHealthPol #PhD Students (COHORT #1!). Also many thanks to @commonwealthfnd and @Arnold_Ventures for funding! 10/10

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