Healthcare policies Health, Medicine, Nursing Coursework (Coursework Sample)

Medicare Part D
Students Name
Institutional Affiliation
Course Name
Instructor's Name
Due Date
Medicare Part D
Plan Overview
Medicare Part D is a plan that is precisely designed to provide cover for prescription drugs. The plans cover certain drugs regulated by the federal government—however, each plan chooses its formulary. A formulary is a list of drugs covered by a plan (UnitedHealthcare, n.d). If a patient is prescribed drugs that are not on his plan's formulary, or drugs covered under other Medicare plans, or drugs that are excluded by Medicare, then Part D does not cover (UnitedHealthcare, n.d).
Policy Formulation
In 1999, President Clinton proposed voluntary enrollment in the new Medicare Part D plan (Oliver et al., 2004). However, it was not until the president had retired that the bill was passed. It was made into law in 2003 when President George W. Bush signed the Medicare Drug Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003 (YourMedicare, 2019), generally known as MMA. It would take yet another three years before Medicare implemented Part D in 2006. Before 2006, the only drugs covered by Medicare were administered during hospital admission or a doctor's office, both in Medicate Part A and B consecutively. However, beginning January 2006, patients would enroll in voluntary Part D, where the plan covered outpatient prescription drugs purchased at retail, mail order, home infusion, and long-term care pharmacies (Medicare Advocacy, 2018).