Last night our team celebrated with a countdown to the launch of the historic Medicare Prescription Payment Plan— a new program that will expand access and improve affordability for Part D beneficiaries, including older adults and those living with disabilities.
For 40% of Medicare beneficiaries, when they opt into this new program, our technology will be behind the scenes supporting their experience from opt-in to making payments.
After six years of launching cost-smoothing programs with employers and payers, we can’t help but feel excited about what this means for the health of those who depend on Medicare Part D coverage for access to live-saving medications.
Studies have found that 20% of Medicare beneficiaries are skipping doses or not filling prescriptions their physicians have prescribed (source: JAMANetwork) because they can’t afford the out-of-pocket cost. The same dynamic happens in the commercial market where 40% of workplace insured Americans report deferring care due to cost.
Here’s the incredible thing: when patients have the power to redesign the timeline of their out-of-pocket payments with no interest or fees, healthier care seeking patterns emerge. In other words, time to pay demolishes the psychological and practical cost barriers that keep people from seeking care. Today, this shift in behavior will be made possible for the first time in Medicare.
How do we know it works? In a January 2024 survey of Paytient cardholders, 54% reported getting care they would have delayed or skipped altogether without Paytient’s solution. Plus, we get thousands of reviews like this:
“The ease of use and repayment at zero interest helps me get and keep getting the medication I need to stay active and healthy” - Jonathan, May 2023
The evidence shows that time is a lever of affordability that can be used to unlock access and affordability in healthcare. If you’d like the deep dive, our CEO and founder, Brian Whorley, has shared our research-supported thesis here.
Now, the task is to ensure those who would benefit from the program, and their caretakers, know how to use it to improve their health and their finances in 2025. We spoke to folks here in our hometown of Columbia, MO to hear what this program will mean to them.
We’ve built a set of resources that anyone can use, including articles, videos, and a cost calculator so anyone can see what their costs would look like transformed by the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan.
We hope you’ll check it out and share it with the older adults in your life.
