United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2007-05-31 monographic deposited born digital 62 p. GA 1.13:GAO-07-572 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-07-572 P0b002ee180397010 f:d07572 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-24 GAOREPORTS-GAO-07-572 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GAO-07-572 GAO-07-572 Beneficiaries Elderly persons Employee benefit plans Health insurance Health surveys Medicare Prescription drugs Program evaluation Retirement benefits Medicare Part D Other Written Product A70069 The Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA) created a prescription drug benefit for beneficiaries, called Medicare Part D, beginning in January 2006. The MMA resulted in options for sponsors of employment-based prescription drug benefits, such as a federal subsidy payment--the retiree drug subsidy (RDS)--when sponsors provide benefits meeting certain MMA requirements to Medicare-eligible retirees. The MMA required GAO to conduct two studies on trends in employment-based retiree health coverage and the MMA options available to sponsors. The first study, Retiree Health Benefits: Options for Employment-Based Prescription Drug Benefits under the Medicare Modernization Act (GAO-05-205), was published February 14, 2005. In this second study, GAO determined which MMA prescription drug coverage options sponsors selected, the factors they considered in selecting these options, and the effect these decisions may have on the provision of employment-based health benefits for retirees. GAO identified options that sponsors selected using data from employer benefit surveys and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the federal agency that administers Medicare. To obtain sponsors' views about the factors they considered and the effects of their decisions, GAO also interviewed private and public sector sponsors and experts. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-07-572/html/GAOREPORTS-GAO-07-572.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-07-572/pdf/GAOREPORTS-GAO-07-572.pdf GAO-07-572 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-07-572 Other Written Product GAO-07-572; Retiree Health Benefits: Majority of Sponsors Continued to Offer Prescription Drug Coverage and Chose the Retiree Drug Subsidy; Beneficiaries Elderly persons Employee benefit plans Health insurance Health surveys Medicare Prescription drugs Program evaluation Retirement benefits Medicare Part D Volume 111 Page 251 111 Stat. 251 Volume 117 Page 2066 Volume 117 Page 2174-2176 Volume 117 Page 2176 Volume 117 Page 2180-93 117 Stat. 2066 117 Stat. 2174-2176 117 Stat. 2176 117 Stat. 2180-93 Volume 120 Page 2922 120 Stat. 2922 Public Law 105-33 Public Law 109-432