Obtaining a prescription for an extended maintenance drug supply beyond a Vacation Override
If you need prescriptions for a longer period than available through your plan's vacation
override process, you should consider asking your prescribing doctor for a
90-day prescription for your medications and you can use your plan’s
90-day mail order option – assuming a 90-day prescription satisfies any
usage management restrictions (such as
prior authorization (PA) or
quantity limit (QL) restrictions).
Question: Can you purchase medications outside the United States and ask your Medicare Part D plan for reimbursement?
You can always ask, but ... If you are traveling and need medications you can always purchase the
medications yourself, save the receipts and ask your Medicare Part D
plan for reimbursement when you return - although your plan may likely
deny the reimbursement request.
Check your Medicare Part D plan's
Evidence of Coverage (EOC) document for more about using a non-network
pharmacy and you may find text such as: "[The Medicare plan] cannot pay
for any stolen medications or prescriptions
that are filled by pharmacies outside the United States and territories,
even for a medical emergency, for example on a cruise ship." (See your
EOC Chapter 3, Section 2.5)
Purchasing International Travel Insurance
Another solution to long-term international drug coverage would
be to purchase separate
foreign travel insurance that
includes prescription coverage. For more information, you can contact a
specialized insurance company such as Petersen International
Underwriters (https://www.piu.org/health-insurance) or International Medical Group (https://www.imglobal.com).
Important: Remember to travel with any prescription (or
healthcare) documentation so that you can have prescriptions filled when
you are outside of the United States. In other words, be sure to have copies of your prescriptions as you travel.