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Your Source for Medicare Part D Information
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Find Your
2010
Medicare Part D plan |
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2010 Prescription Drug Search Tool: PDP-DrugFinder
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Looking for a simpler way to determine which 2010 Medicare Part D prescription drug plans cover a particular medication? Try our prescription drug search tool : PDP-DrugFinder. PDP-DrugFinder is designed for fast, single medication searches and provides plan details and cost-sharing information for your covered medication.
With PDP-DrugFinder, you can search for a medication different ways and find all the Medicare Part D plans in your state that cover your prescription drug or simply determine whether a specific medication is covered by your new 2009 Part D prescription drug plan.
Is your particular medication also part of a local retailer’s drug discount program? Check our RxSavings-Finder to see if a lower discount price is available.
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Stay Informed with our Medicare Part D Newsletter
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Looking for the latest information on Medicare Part D prescription drug plans? Then join the thousands of people who receive our Medicare Part D Newsletter. Our free Newsletter is published on a regular basis and provides details on various areas of your prescription drug plan. The Newsletter presents new Medicare developments, frequently asked questions, and sometimes digs into more complex areas of Part D coverage. We also welcome reader input and suggestions for new topics. We have previously published editions of our Newsletters online if you wish to review some past topics. Complete the form below to sign up for the Newsletter. Please note, that we never share your personal information with other parties.
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Joppel
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Joppel is a new propriety online tool that helps seniors and other Medicare beneficiaries choose a Medicare Part D prescription drug plan (PDP), Medicare Advantage plan (with or without prescription coverage - MA and MA-PDs), and / or Medicare Supplement (Medigap) policy that best meets their own personal health care needs. Joppel is made available to the public by HealthCompare, a subsidiary of the Word and Brown Companies.
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:: Click here to learn more about Joppel.
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Find Your
2010
Medicare Advantage Plan
(Health and Prescription Coverage) |
Compare selected Medicare Advantage plans by drug costs! Enter your ZIP Code, select your county and get started!
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| Or, if you would like to compare ALL Medicare Advantage plans available in your county by plan features, use our
Medicare Advantage Plan Finder. |
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What are Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Plans?
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New to Medicare Part D? Looking for a place to get started? Here is an overview of the Medicare Part D prescription drug program.
Medicare Part D prescription drug plans (or PDPs) provide insurance coverage for your prescription drugs. Medicare Part D is a voluntary program, separate from your Medicare Part A (Hospitalization) and Medicare Part B (Doctors and Out Patient assistance). Medicare Part D is regulated by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and implemented by private insurance companies. If you decide to enroll in a Medicare Part D plan, you will find that, like any insurance, you pay a monthly premium. The monthly premiums for a Medicare Part D PDP can range from only a few dollars to over 100 dollars. Part D plans also may have an initial deductible, co-payments or co-insurance, and some donut hole or Gap coverage (you can find more on these topics in our Glossary). When you enroll in a Medicare Part D prescription drug plan, you should find that your prescription medication costs are reduced. The amount of savings depends on the Medicare Part D plan you select. If you wish to learn more, you can click on this link to view all of the Medicare Part D plans in your State!
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:: More information here in our Blog
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Choosing your Medicare Part D Plan
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Trying to choose a Medicare Part D prescription drug plan (PDP)? Medicare suggests that you look at Coverage, Cost, and Convenience - to these criteria we also add that you should consider the Company and your level of Comfort.
- Coverage - Are your prescription medications covered by this plan? Are there generic alternatives for your brand-name drugs? Can you get work with this plan to get a formulary exception should you need a medication that is not covered on the existing formulary? What price-tiers apply to your medications?
- Cost - What are the monthly Part D plan premiums? Does the Part D plan have an initial deductible? What are the co-payments or co-insurance that you pay for your medications? What are the coverage limits? Is there coverage in the donut hole?
- Convenience - How difficult is it to find a pharmacy? (Note: most national Medicare Part D plans have a pharmacy network of about 40,000 to 50,000.) How easy is it to work with the Medicare Part D plan?
- Company - Is the company who provides the Part D plan important to you? Often people choose a Part D plan based only a Part D plan provider's reputation.
- Comfort - Are you comfortable with your current Part D plan? Even though you might save a few dollars per month, you have an idea how this plan works and what you will be paying.
Still looking for more? Here are some general tips for Medicare Part D prescription drug plan selection.
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:: Choosing a Plan: The Basics
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Enrolling into a Medicare Part D plan
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Have you decided on a Medicare Part D plan and now wish to enroll?
The Annual Enrollment Period (AEP) for 2010 Medicare Part D Plans runs from November 15, 2009 through December 31, 2009.
Enrolling in a Part D plan is easy and takes little time. The good news is that you always pay the same amount for a Part D plan, no matter where or how you enroll. As an expanded feature, we now provide enrollment options for all 2010 Medicare Part D plans across the country. If you wish, you can also enroll with Medicare (1-800-Medicare) or with an agent. The enrollment results should always be the same and in 7 to 10 business days you should receive your Medicare Part D Welcome or new Member information. Once enrolled into a Part D plan, you can contact the plan's Member Services department with any questions or concerns. The toll-free number will be on the back of your Member ID card.
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What can we expect from 2010 Medicare Part D Plans?
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Each year the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) publish a basic Medicare Part D benefit that is used as a standard for the design of Medicare Part D plans offered by private insurance carriers. The insurance carriers must provide Medicare Part D plans that at least meet the basic benefit offered by the CMS standard plan. The basic or standard 2010 Medicare Part D plan provides:
- Initial Deductible: The maximum initial deductible is $310. If your plan has a deductible, you would be responsible for 100% of your prescription costs while in the deductible phase.
- Initial Coverage Phase: After the deductible is met and until the plan negotiated retail costs of your medications reaches $2,830, you share the costs for your medications with your plan by paying a coinsurance or co-payments. The CMS Standard Model coinsurance is 25%.
- Coverage Gap (also known as the Donut Hole): After the initial coverage phase limit of $2,830 is reached and until your Total Out of Pocket (TrOOP) costs (not including plan premium) reaches $4,550, you pay 100% of the plan’s negotiated retail price for covered prescriptions. Using the CMS Standard Model plan, your prescription costs would be $6,440 when you exit the Donut Hole.
- Catastrophic Coverage: Once your total out of pocket cost (TrOOP or drug spending) has reached the Donut Hole or Coverage Gap cap of $4,550 (this amount does not include your monthly Part D plan premiums), you pay only 5% of the cost of covered drugs or a
co-payment of $2.50 for covered generics and $6.30 for covered brand-name
drugs, whichever cost is greater.
If you wish to see more detail click here to see a comparison of 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, and 2006 standard Part D plans.
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:: Add your comments to our Blog
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CMS Releases 2010 Medicare A and Medicare B Rates
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The 2010 Medicare Part B monthly premiums will increase to $110.50 from the 2009 premium of $96.40. Medicare Part B covers such expenses as physician services, outpatient hospital services, specific home health services, and durable medical equipment. Part B premium rates can be higher for Medicare beneficiaries with larger incomes.
The 2010 Medicare Part B deductible will increase to $155, an increase of $20 over the 2009 deductible of $135.
Part A deductible increased $32 to $1,100 for 2010. Medicare Part A covers such items as inpatient hospital costs, costs from skilled nursing facility, hospice, and specific home health care services.
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:: Click here for the CMS Press Release
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Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 Table of Contents is Available
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If you are interested in learning more about the new Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 or MIPPA, click on the above link to review the complete table of contents of the MIPPA or Public Law No: 110-275. The MIPPA was passed to "amend titles XVIII and XIX of the Social Security Act to extend expiring provisions under the Medicare Program, to improve beneficiary access to preventive and mental health services, to enhance low-income benefit programs, and to maintain access to care in rural areas, including pharmacy access, and for other purposes." The MIPPA table of contents is in our Blog where you are free to add your appropriate comments.
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:: Click here for our MIPPA Blog
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Last updated on: 07/20/2010
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Life Insurance plays an important role in your families financial stability.
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