Prescription Drug Benefits: Applying Private Sector Management Methods to Medicare

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed issues related to a potential Medicare outpatient prescription drug benefit, focusing on: (1) the factors contributing to the rise in prescription drug spending and the impact of the rise in spending on Medicare beneficiaries; (2) the methods private insurers have developed to manage these rising costs; and (3) whether and how Medicare can adapt these methods to control spending, should an outpatient prescription drug benefit be added to Medicare.