August 4, 2011 |

Beneficiaries in Medicare’s ‘donut hole’ saved $461 million in first half of 2011

Almost 900,000 Medicare beneficiaries who hit the Part D prescription drug “donut hole” this year have already saved an average of $517, or a 50 percent discount on their drugs, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced Thursday.

Closing the prescription drug donut hole by providing discounts on covered drugs is an intiative under the Affordable Care Act.

The dollar amount of these out-of-pocket savings on drug costs for Medicare beneficiaries has risen to $461 million saved through June 2011—up from $260 million through May 2011, meaning beneficiaries in the donut hole saved more than $200 million in the month of June alone, according to HHS.

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