Topics and Expertise: Medicare Part D

Marilyn Stebbins, PharmD, is the first female recipient of the California Pharmacists Association Innovative Pharmacist of the Year award, which honors accomplishment, creativity, and value added to therapeutics or pharmacy practice. The award was presented during the association's February 4-7,...

The UCSF School of Pharmacy has received a US$3.7 million grant from the Amgen Foundation to train student pharmacists in all 7 California schools of pharmacy with the skills they need to help the underserved elderly make the best Medicare Part D choices.

In the new United States Medicare Part D prescription drug plan, most people are responsible for 100% of their drug costs after their annual drug expenses exceed US$2,250 and until their expenses reach US$5,100.

Helene Levens Lipton, PhD, UCSF School of Pharmacy faculty member and health policy expert, comments that insurers will remain in the Medicare Part D marketplace as long as they benefit.

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Medicare Drug Plan is Prescribing Profits, Business Gains Could Diminish as Program Evolves 

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Medicare Part D decisions are confusing and complex, especially to underprivileged and underserved seniors and disabled applicants. Pharmacists have the expertise to solve this problem if they were named by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) as the primary educators for the Part D...

Pharmacists are essential to the successful implementation of Medicare Part D, according to Helene Levens Lipton, PhD, professor of health policy in the department of clinical pharmacy, UCSF School of Pharmacy and UCSF Institute for Health Policy Studies.

UCSF Doctor of Pharmacy students advised viewers in Spanish about Medicare Part D at the call center for Univision, Channel 14 San Francisco on Friday, May 5, 2006. "The experience was great for student pharmacists and callers alike," said Kirby Lee, PharmD, UCSF School of Pharmacy faculty mentor...

UCSF doctor of pharmacy students explained Medicare Part D in Mandarin, Cantonese, Spanish, Russian, and English at a Saturday, April 29 workshop in San Francisco. The event was hosted by Mission Creek Community Mercy Housing California and the Friends of the San Francisco Public Library.

Doctor of pharmacy students at the UCSF School of Pharmacy were recognized March 17, 2006 with a national Medicare Student Outreach Competition award for their success in educating the public about the new federal Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage program, known as Medicare Part D.

Helene Levens Lipton, PhD, UCSF School of Pharmacy professor and health policy expert explores the impact of Medicare Part D on pharmacy business.

• Full story: Pharmacists Fear Threat to Business Posed by Medicare Part D.