Medicare Open-Enrollment

Medicare Open Enrollment begins October 15 and continues through to December 7. This is your opportunity to make changes to your Medicare D insurance. Medicare D covers most of your out-patient prescription drug expenditures. Coverage plans are sold by private insurance companies. Each plan has a formulary, which is the list of drugs they cover. Although all plans have drugs for each category of illness, not all plans cover all drugs in each category, so it is important that you verify with a plan that they cover the drugs you need. Plans change their formularies, so you should not assume that because they covered your prescriptions last year that they will continue to cover them this year.

Additionally, there is variability in the price of prescription drugs, so it is wise to investigate which plan offers the best price for the drugs you need. Plans have monthly premiums, deductibles, co-pays, and some limitations on drug choice. You should review policies to determine how much you will pay on average for the drugs you typically purchase each year, and what the cost of getting those drugs will be when the cost of the premiums, deductibles and co-pays are factored in.

If you need help in comparing policies, a CHOICES counselor is available to assist you. CHOICES counselors are trained, certified, impartial individuals who do not sell insurance and receive no compensation from insurance companies. They are funded through grants from the federal and state government. Please call CHOICES if you need assistance.

1-800 994 9422.