#TBT: Medicaid’s 50th Anniversary & NPC’s Medicaid Compilation Series
On July 30, 1965, President Lyndon Johnson signed into law Medicaid, a state and federally funded program that offers health coverage to certain low-income people, the elderly and individuals with disabilities. Today marks the 50th Anniversary of the program, in which more than 70 million people are enrolled. NPC was among the first organizations to track data related to prescription drug spending and demographics under Medicaid and its predecessor program.
As part of our “Throwback Thursday” blog series, we’re taking a look at a topic that’s currently in the news and tagging it with previous research, videos or commentaries in a relevant way. As the saying goes, “what’s old is new again” – and we hope you enjoy our wonky twist on #TBT.
On July 30, 1965, President Lyndon Johnson signed into law Medicaid, a state and federally funded program that offers health coverage to certain low-income people, the elderly and individuals with disabilities. Today marks the 50th Anniversary of the program, in which more than 70 million people are enrolled.
The National Pharmaceutical Council (NPC) was among the first organizations to track data related to prescription drug spending and demographics under Medicaid and its predecessor program.
Beginning in 1963, NPC compiled and published one of the largest sources of information on pharmacy programs within the State Medical Assistance Programs (Title XIX) and expanded pharmacy programs for the elderly and disabled. The report, “Pharmaceutical Benefits Under State Medical Assistance Programs,” (also known as the “Medicaid Compilation” and our #TBT pick of the week) became a standard reference and invaluable resource in government offices, research libraries, consultancies, the pharmaceutical industry, numerous businesses and policy organizations from its inception through 2007.
The Compilations presented a general overview of the characteristics of state programs together with more detailed information on the pharmaceutical benefits provided. The data collection effort covered all states with Medicaid programs.
The Compilation incorporated information from an annual NPC survey of State Medicaid program administrators and pharmacy consultants, statistics from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, formerly known as the Health Care Financing Administration, and information from other federal agencies and organizations.
Typically, the Compilations included:
- Socio-demographic statistics and a description of the Medicaid certified facilities in each state;
- Medicaid pharmacy program characteristics, drawn largely from NPC’s annual survey of state program administrators;
- Detailed profile of the states’ Medicaid pharmacy program (including medical assistance benefits and eligibles, drug payments and recipients, benefit design, pharmacy payment and patient cost sharing, use of managed care and state contacts); and
- Profiles of State pharmaceutical assistance programs.
NPC ceased publication of the Compilation in 2007, when the organization turned its focus to evidence-based medicine. However, every edition of the Compilation is still available on NPC’s website, and the historical information remains a useful resource for researchers.