This project focuses on the impact of Medicare’s new prescription drug benefit—Part D—and will focus on two broad areas. First, the study will provide an overview of the long-term-care pharmacy industry. The research builds on our previous work in this area and further investigates the industry’s concentration, its relative profitability, and the importance of economies of scale. Second, the study will analyze how the LTCP market is changing with the introduction of Part D, as well as the implications for nursing homes, beneficiaries, and the Medicare program as a whole.

To address the topics above, we will conduct key informant interviews and, if requested, analyze PDP formulary data that are available as public-use files from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). In addition, we propose to analyze relevant data on survey deficiencies from On-Line Survey Certification and Reporting (OSCAR) data and data from the Minimum Data Set (MDS).