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Medicare Part D |
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۰ Medicare Part D |
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What is Medicare Part D Medicare started a program in 2006 to offer prescription drug coveragecalled Medicare Part D. Medicare Plan D is also known as Medicare prescription drug coverage. No matter what your income is, Medicare Part D is open to everyone with Medicare. Medicare can cover you for prescription drug coverage even if you do not have the Medicare Part D program working for you. Even if you have prescription drug coverage through another program, Medicare Plan D may give you choices on your prescriptions, more so than your current plan. What Are the Benefits of Medicare Part D? Here are a few of the benefits that Medicare Part D offers: Anyone who has Medicare is eligible for Medicare Part D. It doesn’t matter what your income is, your current health or even if you another prescription drug plan. This program has many things to offer than may help you even more than your current provider. You can control your health care cost and even save money with the Medicare Part D. No matter what your income is, you can save money on the cost of your current prescriptions. You have a choice of many plans and medicines. This program covers a wide range of brand-name medicines as well as generic medicines. To make things easier, you will have at least two Medicare prescription drug plans in your area and you can choose the one that is best for you. Filling subscriptions made easy. Your prescription drug card contains all of your Medicare Part D information and can be easily accesses by a pharmacist. Your card is scanned by the pharmacist and they will let you know what your co-payment will be. You get peace of mind with Medicare Part D. You are limit to the amount that you have to pay if you become very ill and your prescription bills begin to mount up. Medicare’s high standards are also the same for Medicare Part D. Medicare approves all of their prescription drug plans. You can be sure of you are getting quality coverage. Obtaining extra help. If you have limited income or resources, you may qualify for extra help, get lower co-payments reduced premiums and deductibles. You don’t have to worry about gaps in coverage. Medicare covers preventative services to help find illnesses early, such as: - A one time “Welcome to Medicare “ physical exam. - A cardiovascular screening to check on your health. - A diabetes screening to check for breast cancer. - A Pap smear to check for cervical cancer. - A mammogram to check for breast cancer. - A bone density test to check for osteoporosis. - A prostate cancer screening to check for prostate cancer. - Blood glucose monitoring. - Flue, pneumonia and hepatitis B vaccinations. What’s new for 2007. When you turn 65 you can sign up for Medicare Part D. The initial enrollment period is 3 months prior to your birthday month and 3 months after. You can enroll outside of this period but you will have to pay a higher premium. The annual enrollment period is between November 15, 2006 and December 31, 2006. You do not have to sign up again if you are already signed up for the 2007 plan year. If you decide there is a better plan for you, these are the dates that you can change your plan. If you make a change, these changes will take affect on January 1, 2007. Medicare drug plans that exist this year may change next year. You should get a letter in the mail if your plan is going to change. This letter will explain all the changes that will take affect on your new Medicare plan. These changes may consist of: - the medicines covered by your plan - your deductible and co-payment - your monthly premiums - your plan’s name Be sure to contact your Medicare drug plan if you have any questions about any changes that are made to your plan. How Much Will Medicare Part D cost? Each plan will cost differently. You can pick a plan that has a deductible, one without a premium, or a coverage gap. Look over the plans carefully and choose the one that is better for you. If you have limited income, you can get assistance in paying for your Medicare drug plan costs. The amounts used below represent standard coverage. All plans may not look exactly the same. What are the basic costs? - Most people will pay $24 per month in monthly premiums. - All deductibles are $265 or less. This is the amount you pay for your prescriptions before the plan starts to share in the cost. - You have to pay co-payments and coinsurance. This is the amount you pay for your prescriptions after you have paid the deductible. In some plans, you pay he same co-payment for any drug. In some plans, you pay the same coinsurance for any drug. In other plans, there might be different costs for different drugs. What is the cost after the deductible is paid? After the deductible is paid, it will cost 25% of your yearly drug cost until you pay $2400 out of pocket in year. After the $2400 yearly out of pocket costs are paid, what happens? You will reach the coverage gap once you have spent $2400 out of pocket in a year on medicines. After this point you will be responsible for 100% of your drug costs from $2400 TO $5451.25. What if you pay more than $5451.25 out of pocket in a year? At this point, you will only have to pay 5% of your drug costs after you have spend the $5451.25. Where do you start? Medicare Part D can be confusing especially when trying to select the right plan, but Medicare Part D has many benefits. The steps outlined below will help you select the plan that is best for you.
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Copyright 2005 medicarehelpinfo.com
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