Medicare Drug Plans - Medicare Part D

Selected Links to Medicare Part D Drug Plan Information Pages

Medicare Part D Drug plans have brought out dozens of insurance companies trying to get your business. And you thought that this was going to be great for senior citizens on Medicare? Think again - these companies are spending millions of dollars on television advertising in an attempt to get you to sign up with them for your Medicare Drug Plans. Apparently the competition is stiff and you need to be prepared to work a little in order to get the best, and cheapest plan for your particular situation.

In order to beat then at their own game you'll need to be prepared. Preparation includes understanding the basic plan and that there can be numerous variations made to the plan by each company. Also, each company is likely to offer many plans and may not provide you with the cheapest alternative that meets your needs.

What you can do:

Know the plans and understand that there will be multiple variations available to you.
Know your prescriptions; drug name, manufacturer, generic availability, daily dosage, formulation (pills, capsules, etc), and concentration (milligrams, etc).
Learn how much your drugs cost.
Call as many plan providers as you can. Don't make a decision on the first few - use them as a learning tool. You can come back to them later.
Be organized - write everything down and document who, when, where of each conversation.

Deciphering Medicare Part D at BankRate.com Enrollment begins each year on Nov. 15 for Medicare's prescription-drug coverage program. Known as Medicare Part D, this benefit will be available to all Americans age 65 and older.

AARP Medicare Part D Explanation: Learn how to choose from many private plans approved by Medicare, what the cost and benefits are, whether you qualify for extra help and much more.

Medicare.gov - Information on the Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage: For the first time ever, everyone with Medicare, regardless of income, health status, or prescription drug usage, will have access to prescription drug coverage. This new coverage begins on January 1, 2006. While information is available now and educational sessions are taking place in communities across the country, you can't enroll until November 15th.

The decision to get Medicare prescription drug coverage depends on how you pay for your drugs now and how you get your Medicare coverage. Most people with Medicare pay for drugs and get their Medicare in one of five ways:

Original Medicare only, or Original Medicare and a Medigap (‘Supplement') Policy without drug coverage. The new Medicare drug coverage will cover half of the costs for you if you have this kind of coverage now. Enhanced options are available that provide more coverage.
Original Medicare and a Medigap (‘Supplement') Policy with drug coverage. The new Medicare drug coverage will generally provide much more comprehensive coverage at a lower cost.
Retiree or union coverage. In most cases, people with good retiree or union coverage can continue to get it, with new financial support from Medicare.
Medicare Advantage Plan (like an HMO or PPO) or other Medicare Health Plan, which already include drug coverage and other extra benefits.
Dual coverage from Medicare with Medicaid drug coverage. These people will automatically get comprehensive prescription drug coverage from Medicare, starting on January 1.

Wikipedia Resource: Beneficiaries can obtain the Medicare drug benefit through two types of private plans: beneficiaries can join a Prescription Drug Plan (PDP) for drug coverage only or they can join a Medicare Advantage plan (MA) that covers both medical services and prescription drugs (MA-PD).[2] The latter type of plan is actually part of Medicare Part C and has several other differences relative to original Medicare. Not all drugs will be covered at the same level, giving participants incentives to choose certain drugs over others. This is often implemented via a system of tiered formularies in which lower-cost drugs are assigned to lower tiers and thus are easier to prescribe or cheaper.

Post Gazette: Medicare Part D: 'Ideal' plan could be hard to find: The message has been trumpeted for weeks on TV and radio ads, at the pharmacy counter and in the newspaper: Medicare beneficiaries can begin buying new prescription drug benefits this month.