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Medicare
Drug Coverage? 5 Important Questions
By Douglas Hanna
The
new Medicare Plan D Prescription Drug Coverage Program has created
a lot of confusion. But there are five basic questions where you
need to know the answers. Here are those questions and answers.
Who
can join this Medicare prescription Drug plan?
Medicare
says that everyone over 65 who has the Original Medicare Plan, a
Medicare Private Fee-for-Service Plan that doesn't offer prescription
drug coverage, or a Medicate Cost Plan, can join a Medicare Plan
D in their area.
How
much will my Plan D Prescription Drug Coverage cost?
Here's
where it gets complicated. While there are many plans that have
been certified by Medicare, not all plans are available in all states.
This means you must pick a plan that's available in your state.
Each of these plans determines how much to charge. However all drug
plans must offer coverage at least as good as the Medicare minimum
standard coverage. This minimum standard coverage requires you to
pay a monthly premium, and the first $250 per year for your prescriptions.
This $250 is called your deductible.
For
example, here in Colorado, there are 20 different plans available.
The monthly premium for these plans ranges from a low of $0 to a
high of $65.88.
What
do these drug plans cover?
Each
plan provider also determines which drugs will be covered. The list
of drugs covered by a plan is called a “formulary.” Each plan's
formulary typically lists each drug covered by the drug's brand
or generic name and whether or not a co-pay is required. For example,
the AARP Medicare Plan lists 25 analgesics (pain relievers), ranging
from ibuprofen which requires a $5 co-pay to Celebrex with a $55
co-pay.
What
is the Plan D “donut hole I keep hearing about?
After
you pay your $250 deductible, you pay 25% of your yearly drug costs
from the $250 to $2,250, and your prescription drug plan pays the
other 75%. You then pay 100% of the next $2850 in drug costs. This
is the donut hole. Then, after you have spent $3,600 out of pocket,
you pay only 5% of your drug costs (or a small co-payment) for the
rest of the calendar year.
How
do I pick a plan?
Unfortunately,
the burden is on you to research and compare the plans available
in your area. If you have access to the Internet, you can go to
www.medicare.gov, click on Landscape of Local Plans. and on your
state. You will then be shown all the plans available in your state
with each plan's monthly premium and information on its deductibles
and benefits.
Here's
something that's a lot simpler. It's a new technology called HD
Radio that enables AM and FM radio stations to broadcast their programs
digitally. This is a tremendous technological leap from today's
familiar analog broadcasts. These digital broadcasts provide listeners
with radically improved audio quality, more radio channels through
multicasting, and new data services. To learn more about this amazing
new technology, just go my Web site,
http://www.hd-radio-home.com, to get all the buzz.
Douglas
Hanna is a retired marketing executive and the author of numerous
articles on HD radio, old time radio and family finances.
