Check Your 2008 Medicare Drug Plan
November 21, 2007
It is open season for Medicare prescription plans and the time to shop around for the best plan that fits your needs and budget is now. Medicare users should know that open season ends 31 December.
Medicare consumers have through December 31 to select a new “Part D” prescription plan for 2008. It is important for those who use Medicare Part D to review the plans because there are some cost increases and coverage changes that can affect them.
Medicare is the federally run health insurance program for people who are 65 and older or disabled. There are approximately 24 million people enrolled in the drug benefit program.
The prescription drug plans, including Part D, are administered by private companies. Two of the largest companies that handle drug plans are Humana and United Healthcare.
According to Jeff Nelligan, spokesperson for the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services based in Washington, there are approximately 1,800 individual drug plans for next year, 17 of which are national in scope.
Bill Vaughan, senior policy analyst for Consumers Union in Washington, recently said that consumers who remain on their current plans without checking the other choices that they will have may find higher costs and restrictions. “You could be in for a terrible sticker shock the first time you show up at the drugstore in January,” he said.
Two tips to ensure that can save time and money are:
Make a list of your required drugs and compare that list against the plans to see which will cover the most of those drugs. The second tip is to not fall into the lowest monthly premium mind-set. Many low-premium plans have very high co-pays.