Episode Description:

 Listen as Kim Beer, Senior Vice President of Policy and External Affairs with the National Health Council, and Dermatologist, Dr. Jeffrey Cohen discuss the 2025 Medicare changes in relation to psoriatic disease and what's to come in 2026 with Jason Harris, Vice President of Government Relations and Advocacy at NPF.

 Join this discussion about what changes occurred with Medicare in 2025 that impact psoriatic disease care, outcomes to date, what's to come in 2026, and what you should consider when choosing health care plans during open enrollment with Kim Beer, Senior Vice President of Policy and External Affairs with the National Health Council, Dermatologist, Dr. Jeffrey Cohen, Director of the Psoriasis Treatment Program at Yale University School of Medicine, and Jason Harris, Vice President of Government Relations and Advocacy at NPF.

 The intent of this episode is to increase knowledge of the 2025 Medicare changes, what's to come, and how such changes impact psoriatic disease from coverage of prescriptions to overall health care.

This episode is sponsored by Novartis.

Timestamps:

  (0:24 ) Intro to Psoriasis Uncovered and guest welcome Kim Beer, Senior Vice President of Policy   and External Affairs with the National Health Council, and Dermatologist, Dr. Jeffrey Cohen, Director of the Psoriasis Treatment Program at Yale School of Medicine.

(2:25 ) Perspectives on current health care coverage in Medicare.   

(5:14 ) Biggest changes to Medicare in 2025.

(6:36 ) What is the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan and price negotiation for specific medications.

(8:22 ) Challenges associated with the 2025 Medicare changes from a physician's perspective.

(13:10 ) Price negotiation process via CMS  (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) with the first 10 drugs price effective in 2026.  

(17:52 ) Plan ahead and what to anticipate when choosing the right Medicare plan.

(20:04 ) What the National Health Council and other patient advocacy organizations are doing to assess the impact of the CMS changes and identify steps for moving forward.

(21:49 ) Medicare changes for 2026 that affect deductibles for health care services, prescription drug coverage, and vaccinations.

(28:38 ) Potential assistance options for people who have Medicare insurance.

(31:32 ) The role of patients in providing feedback on policy changes.

(33:45 ) Changing from a commercial insurance plan to a Medicare Plan and what to think about when viewing plan options during the open enrollment period.

(37:07 ) Be part of the process – let your voice be heard by sharing your experiences to help effect change.

3 Key Takeaways:

·       There are four key parts to Medicare health insurance (Part A, B, C and D) which underwent changes in 2025 including a payment cap for prescriptions and availability of a 12 month Prescription Payment Plan to opt in for medications. Additional changes are coming in 2026 including enactment of a price negotiated list of 10 medications.

·       The impact of such changes are both positive (<s