You can sign up for Part D Prescription Drug Plans, which helps cover prescription drug costs, along with other components of Medicare starting three months before your 65th birthday.
It’s important to do this on time because there’s a permanent premium surcharge for enrolling more than three months after your 65th birthday if you don’t have equivalent drug coverage from another source, such as a retiree plan.
Let us help you with your enrollment
If you are already enrolled in a Part D “standalone” plan or a Medicare Advantage plan that incorporates drug coverage, you can switch plans during the open-enrollment period, which runs from Oct. 15 to Dec. 7 every year.
Making Part D work
Most Prescription Drug Plans have a coverage gap called a donut hole. This means there’s a temporary limit on what the drug plan will cover for drugs. The coverage gap begins after you and your drug plan have spent a certain amount for covered drugs. For 2019, you’re in the coverage gap once you and your plan have spent $3,820 on covered drugs. People with Medicare who get Extra Help paying Part D costs won’t enter the coverage gap.
Once you reach the coverage gap in 2019, you’ll pay no more than 25% of the plan’s cost for covered brand-name prescription drugs. You get these savings if you buy your prescriptions at a pharmacy or order them through the mail. Some plans may offer higher savings in the coverage gap. The discount will come off of the price that your plans has set with the pharmacy for that specific drug.
In 2019, 95% of the price will count as out-of-pocket costs. These items aren’t counted toward your out-of-pocket spending:
- What the drug plan pays toward the drug cost (5% of the price in 2019)
- What the drug plan pays toward the dispensing fee (75% of the fee in 2019)
Choosing a plan
It pays to review your Part D coverage every year, especially if you have started taking new drugs.
- Start at Medicare.gov, where you can find the basics about the benefit and Part D plans. There’s a link to the Medicare Part D Plan Finder, which allows you to compare offerings and coverage options in your area and includes a helpful formulary finder that allows you to compare plans based on their coverage of your personalized list of drugs. It will even show you your monthly out-of-pocket drug cost for the year
Call us to help you understand your options.
Getting financial help
Individuals with annual incomes of less than $18,210 and financial resources of less than $14,100, or married couples with incomes of less than $28,150, might qualify for Extra Help from Medicare to pay their Part D premiums and out-of-pocket drug costs.
Download Medicare’s instructions on applying for the Extra Help program.
Additionally, read about the six ways to lower your drug costs on Medicare.gov.
This information was obtained from www.medicare.gov