In 2011, Medicare Part D beneficiaries began receiving a 50 percent discount on all brand-name drugs in the coverage gap (commonly known as the "donut hole"). The donut hole is a gap in Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage between the initial coverage limit and the catastrophic threshold during which the beneficiary must pay 100 percent of the cost of prescription drugs. The donut hole was scheduled to close in 2020 for both brand-name and generic drugs under the ACA. However, the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 closes the donut hole for brand-name drugs a year earlier in 2019. The coverage gap closed for generics effective January 1, 2020.

For more information, please read Medicare's Costs in the Coverage Gap.

For additional Health Care Reform information please visit GuideStone.org/HealthReform.