If you are on Medicare Part A and Part B and have a Medicare supplement policy the time is approaching to review your Part D for 2011. Part D has been extremely helpful to millions of Medicare recipients and is an important part of your insurance coverage in addition to a Medicare supplement plan. There are three ways
for you to do that
Call Medicare (800-633-4227)
and
give a Part D specialist your RX list.
A representative will find a plan for you and enroll you over the
phone
immediately. ** This is what I
recommend**
Contact
SHIP (State Health Insurance Program) and set an appointment.
Medicare can provide you with a local
SHIP telephone number. The SHIP
representative will then find a plan that works well based on your RXs
and
immediately enroll you over the phone.
www.medicare.gov
and use their online
tool to find the best plan for you and you can
enroll online. (Only use this option if you are savvy on the internet)
The
main reason you should call Medicare to help find the best Part D plan for you is they can make the process go very fast. While you are on the phone
with them, they can take your RX list, find a plan, explain it to you, and
enroll you immediately without any paperwork.
Between
November 15th and December 31st you will be in
your
Annual Election Period. During
this time you can change, add, or drop Medicare Part D.
There
is a significant change to the donut hole (or coverage gap). The
pharmaceutical companies have agreed to pay 50% of the donut hole cost
for you
starting in 2011 on many brand name RXs. When you review your Part D for
2011, many of you will find this very
beneficial.
Lastly,
your 2010 Part D Plan will be different next year Each year Part D companies change the
premiums, formularies and co-pays. Some plans will no longer be available. Your 2010 plan may have worked great for you but in 2011 it
could be a bad fit. Each year you
need to review your Part D coverage. Please don’t forget
to review your prescriptions for 2011 so
you can get the most out of your Part D coverage!
The end of year is a great time to review your Medicare supplement coverage. But this is something you can do any time of the year. Part D, on the other hand, has a very limited time frame so take advantage of this in the last 45 days of the year!