Medicare is composed of 4 Parts: Parts A, B, C, and D. Part D is the completely optional portion of Medicare that offers prescription drug coverage in exchange for a monthly premium. Because Part D prices and coverage differ depending on your area, it can be confusing to know which plans are good plans. Read on to learn more about how you can compare Part D plans.
What Plan D Works
Part D is the optional portion of Medicare that offers prescription drug coverage. Part D is an add on plan offered by private insurance companies. In order to purchase a Part D plan, you find a company and plan that you like and enroll during the specific enrollment periods. You can enroll when you first turn 65, when your coverage changes and you are in the Special Enrollment Period, or during the Open Enrollment Period from October 15 to December 7. The companies, coverage, and rates are different depending on where you are. The costs of the medications themselves also differ depending on where you are. This is why it can be so confusing to know which plan is right for you.
How to Compare Using Medicare.gov
Fortunately, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have created online tools to help you compare Part D plans. To compare, you first go to their website, Medicare.gov. You then click on the ‘Find Health & Drug Plans’ button and follow the prompts. They ask for your zip code, whether you will be getting financial assistance from one of their programs, and whether you want to include specific drugs when comparing plans. For example, if you use Metformin, you can specifically include Metformin in their comparison guide to see which plans will offer you the cheapest price for that medication.
When you get your results, Medicare will show you the plan name, the insurance company, and how well they rate the plan from 1 to 5 stars. They will also show you the monthly premium, the yearly drug and premium cost to help you better estimate your annual costs, and the deductible. If you want to see which pharmacies offer your medications the cheapest through certain plans, you have to add the pharmacies to the prompts.
Get an Agent to Help
Like with many things with Medicare, getting an agent to help you navigate all of your options for prescription drug coverage can help save you many hours of frustration. An agent can help you figure out if Part D is right for you and, if so, which plan best suits your needs.
For all of your Medicare questions, contact us today.
