The Budget Reconciliation “Build Back Better Act”  legislation currently being considered by Congress, as well as previous bills considered in the Senate, include proposed language that would reform prescription drug costs and coverage for Medicare Advantage-Prescription Drug (“MA-PD”) and Prescription Drug Plan (“PDP”) enrollees. One key provision in both pieces of legislation is a restructuring of the Medicare Part D benefit design, which currently provides prescription drug coverage to almost 50 million Medicare beneficiaries through an MA-PD or PDP plan.

In this paper, we assess the impact on nationwide Part D basic beneficiary premiums of changing the plan and manufacturer liabilities proposed under the Part D benefit redesigns in the House and Senate bills.