2019 Medicare Part D Drug Benefit Modest Increases from 2018

The Medicare Part D standard defined benefit will be slightly higher in 2019. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) provides a Retiree Drug Subsidy (RDS) to sponsors of group health plans that provide prescription drug coverage to Medicare-eligible retirees. The RDS amounts for 2019 will be slightly higher than the 2018 amounts.

This Update features charts comparing the 2019 numbers to the 2018 numbers. It also reviews changes to the Part D benefit, which were made by the Affordable Care Act and the more recent Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, and illustrates the impact of those changes on the 2019 benefit.