If you are enrolling in medicare part A and part B, you must also enroll in part D which is prescription drug coverage. You are not required to sign up for a prescription drug plan, but there is a penalty if you don't sign up for a prescription drug plan when you are first eligible for medicare.
The initial enrollment period for medicare is 3 months before the month you turn 65, includes the month you turn 65, and 3 months after you turn 65. After this initial enrollment period, if you have not signed up for a prescription drug plan, part D, you will pay a penalty of 1% for each month that you did not have prescription drug coverage. This will be in effect when you sign up for a prescription drug plan and will not go away. For example, if you wait 10 months your premium will be 10% higher than what the plan would normally cost. So if the prescription drug plan premium was $50 per month, you would pay $55 per month. Forever.............
When you shop for a prescription drug plan it is important to check a few things:
The initial enrollment period for medicare is 3 months before the month you turn 65, includes the month you turn 65, and 3 months after you turn 65. After this initial enrollment period, if you have not signed up for a prescription drug plan, part D, you will pay a penalty of 1% for each month that you did not have prescription drug coverage. This will be in effect when you sign up for a prescription drug plan and will not go away. For example, if you wait 10 months your premium will be 10% higher than what the plan would normally cost. So if the prescription drug plan premium was $50 per month, you would pay $55 per month. Forever.............
When you shop for a prescription drug plan it is important to check a few things:
- Are you prescriptions covered under the plans formulary? Each prescription drug plan has a formulary or list of drugs that it covers. You want to make sure that your prescription drugs are covered under the plan.
- What is the cost of your prescription drug? Each plan will separate prescription drugs into tiers from tier 1 to tier 5. Tier 1 is the least expensive and tier 5 is the most expensive. Check what tier your prescription drugs are covered in and what the exact cost will be for a 30, 60, 90 day supply.
- What pharmacies can you use with the prescription drug plan? Check to see what pharmacies you can use to fill your prescriptions. It makes no sense to sign up for a plan that you have to drive 30 miles to fill a prescription. Many part D plans offer mail order refills at a discount as well. Research the plan and see what your options are.
- Shop all plans in your area. On medicare.gov you can enter your zip code, pharmacy, prescriptions you take and you will see all drug plans available and the annual cost to refill your prescriptions along with the monthly premium cost.
- Check the prescription drug star rating. All prescription drug plans, part D, have a star rating of 1-5 with 5 stars being rated highest. These ratings are based on customer satisfaction with the plan. Beware of low rated plans.
I hope that this information is helpful. As you age and begin taking more medications it is important to reevaluate your plan to make sure all prescription drugs are covered.
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