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What is Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage? On January 1, 2006, all persons with Medicare will be eligible for prescription drug coverage. This will be provided by private insurance companies throughout the country and will cover brand name and generic drugs. You may choose the drug plan that works for you. Currently, there are over 70 cards offered, some from private insurance companies and others from drug companies. For those over 55, there are over 1500 discount cards available that are not part of the Medicare program. These can be used in addition to the Medicare prescription cards but you can only have one Medicare prescription card. They will vary in price, what drugs are available and which pharmacies can be used. All drug plans will have to offer at least a standard level of coverage, which Medicare will set. It will be important to take the time to choose the best card for the medications that person takes to get the most benefit. On an average income, a person will pay $37 per month with a $250 deductible. They will pay 25% of their drug costs up to $2,250. You will pay 100% of the next $2,850 in drug costs, then the plan will cover 95% of your drug costs after you have spent $3,600 out-of-pocket. People with limited resources and income may qualify for extra help. You may qualify if your income is less than $14,355 or $19,245 for a married couple living together and your resources are less than $11,500 or $23,000 if you are married and living together. These people will pay no premiums, no deductibles and no more than $5 per prescription. Some people automatically qualified and were signed up by Medicare; others will be sent the forms to sign up from Social Security. The important thing about this new program is that you must sign up between November 15, 2005 and May 15, 2006. If you try to join after this time, you may pay a penalty. If you have Medigap insurance, you may continue with this plan but when you switch to the Medicare prescription card, you will pay a penalty. After 2006, no Medigap policies that cover prescription drugs will be sold. There are many resources available for Medicare beneficiaries. First and foremost, the websites www.socialsecurity.gov and www.medicare.gov offer a wealth of information including phone numbers, pamphlets and application information. Other helpful websites are www.cancer.org and www.mental-health-today.com. A wonderful resource is www.pparx.org where you can actually enter all of your medications and the website will tell you which card will give you the most savings. If you would like more information, please call our
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