title: Should healthy Medicare beneficiaries postpone enrollment in Part D?
abstract: (1) Total lifetime expected out-of-pocket costs are minimized if healthy 65-year-old Medicare beneficiaries enroll in Part D immediately upon eligibility rather than waiting until they contract a drug-intensive condition. (2) The savings from early enrollment are greater for females than for males. (3) The late enrollment penalty for Medicare Part D provides an important incentive for early enrollment, and eliminating the late enrollment penalty would create a significant cost advantage for postponed enrollment, especially for men.
authors.affiliation: Changes in Health Care Financing & Organization, AcademyHealth, USA.
authors.forename: Marie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Federowicz
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D004608:Eligibility Determination / Q000191:economics* / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D005260:Female; D005382:Financing, Personal / Q000191:economics* / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D054524:Medicare Part D / Q000191:economics* / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D009042:Motivation; D013997:Time Factors; D014481:United States