On December 5, 2005, Forums Institute convened a New Jersey Policy Forum on The Implementation of Medicare Part D in New Jersey. Speakers presented information covering national, other states and New Jersey implementation. The speakers and their topics were:

• Jack Hoadley, Research Professor, Georgetown University Health Policy Institute.
  Dr. Hoadley spoke about the drug plan market and plan formularies in 2006, the rules regarding availability of necessary drugs, and educating beneficiaries about options.
  • Medicare's New Adventure: The Part D Drug Benefit
  • Listen to speech (12MB .mp3 file)
• Kimberley Fox, Senior Policy Analyst, Institute for Health Policy, University of Southern Maine
  Ms. Fox presented preliminary research findings on Part D implementation in other states.
  • Wrapping Around Medicare Part D: States' Plans in 2006
• Kathleen Mason, Acting Deputy Commissioner of Senior Services, New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services
  Ms. Mason presented a comprehensive description of how New Jersey utilized technology to facilitate enrollment of PAAD (Pharmaceutical Assistance to the Aged & Disabled) and Senior Gold beneficiaries.
  • The New Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage for New Jersey's PAAD and Senior Gold Beneficiaries
• Valerie Harr, Budget & Accounting Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services, New Jersey
  Ms. Harr spoke about New Jersey's efforts to educate dual eligibles about Medicare Part D.
  • Dual Eligibles in New Jersey

Background materials provided to Forum attendees were:

• Overview of Key Implementation Dates for the Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit, The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation's Medicare Resources
• Fact Sheet - The Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit, September 2005 (2-page pdf) The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation's Medicare Resources
• A Report from the Forum Session - Implementing the Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit: Continuing Challenges for States, (15-page pdf), National Health Policy Forum
• State Pharmacy Assistance Programs vs. Medicare Prescription Drug Plans: How Do They Contain Rising Costs? October 2005, (9-page pdf) By Sarah Goodell, Jack Hoadley, Ellen O'Brien and Claudia Williams, Health Policy Institute, Georgetown University
• The "Clawback:" State Financing of Medicare Drug Coverage, (12-page pdf) By Andy Schneider, Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured