Medicare Part D and Quality of Prescription Medication Use in Older Adults

In 2006, the US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services implemented Medicare Part D to provide outpatient prescription drug insurance to disabled and older adults. In creating Part D, a key provision to address quality included medication therapy management (MTM) programmes designed to increase proper and safe use of medications among targeted Part D beneficiaries. A preponderance of evidence shows that Part D has increased medication affordability and accessibility; however, what remains less clear is whether it has improved the quality of medication use and optimized health outcomes. Now in its sixth year, Part D is undergoing its first major revision, with the gradual elimination of the coverage gap by 2020. Therefore, now is a good time to review the accumulated evidence on the impact of Part D and MTM programmes on the quality of medication use to help inform future policy decisions and research directions.