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Easy Online Guide to Select Medicare Drug Plan
By Tucker Sutherland, Editor,
SeniorJournal.com
Nov. 15, 2005 - There is just no question that the
new Medicare Prescription Drug Program is complicated – it’s very
complicated. It is a challenge because of the many choices a senior has
to consider in reaching the final decision to enroll in one of the
private insurance drug plans or Medicare Advantage plans. This confusing
program was designed by the Bush Administration and Congress. But, the
Medicare administrators have done a good job of making the selection
process as easy as possible with their online tools. Let us guide you
through it.
Walking through the process with the Medicare
Prescription Drug Plan Finder takes awhile but at the end it can show
you the plans for you ranked in order of what it estimates each plan
will cost you in 2006. Remember, however, that your drug needs may
change and prices may change. Still, it is probably the best guide you
will find to making the right choice.
Here, we will walk through the primary online
process for learning about the plans and selecting the one that best
suits your needs. By going through this guide you should be well
prepared to know the information you will need and to be prepared to
make the decisions you encounter on the Medicare Website.
To begin, you should go to
http://www.Medicare.gov/, where you will see the page below.
Note: All the pages you see on the actual
Medicare site may not match all the pages below, which have been modified for
ease of presentation.
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 Window 1
Choose the first link on this page, as shown by the red arrow.
This will take you to the most options and to the one we will
follow in walking through the choices.
Clicking this link will take you to the following window. |
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Window 2
On
the left are the choices provided in this second window. We are
assuming you have a pretty good knowledge of how the program
works – from reading our information on the Medicare
Prescription Drug Program section page in SeniorJournal.com.
So,
we are choosing the link shown by the arrow to take us to the –
Medicare
Prescription Drug Plan Finder.
Go
to the next window… |
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Window 3
This is the first window of the Drug Plan Finder. You should
choose the option shown.
Now
go to the next window… |
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Window 4
This is where you first begin to need information.
Basically, you need the information that is on your Medicare
card. Have it handy.
We
suggest you provide this information and proceed with this “Personalized
plan search,” because it will provide more specific
information for you.
You
can, at this point, just go to option B – “General plan search,”
but we do not recommend it.
This guide follows the Personalized search.
Click “Search Plans,” as we did for the next window. |
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Window 5
This is just a simple click through, after reading their “thank
you” and protection statement.
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Window 6
To complete his page you will need –
• Your Zip Code
• Knowledge of your
current insurance coverage for prescription drugs
• To know if you are
qualified for financial help.
For the
purposes of this guide, we entered Zip Code “78217.”
Under “B,” we
checked the last option, “None of the above,” meaning we
have no drug coverage.
And, we clicked
“No” under “C” – not eligible for help.
We those
options we went to the next window. |
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Window 7
This is just a click through, after you show you understand the
original Medicare Plan does not include drug coverage.
Click on “Choose a Drug Plan Type.” |
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 Window 8
It
is at this point that you choose to seek information on a
Medicare Advantage Plan (HMO, PPO, etc.) or the Medicare
Prescription Drug Plans offered by insurance companies.
For
this guide, we are seeking a drug plan –
click bottom button. |
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Window 9
There are three options on this page and we
strongly suggest you choose “B” – Enter my medications.
This we think, we provide you the best
information on the plans and it is the link followed for this
guide.
Go to next window. |
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Window 10
This is just a quick click through after Medicare
checks that you do have the required Parts A & B.
Click Continue.
Note: This page may not come up. It did not in
all of our runs through the program. Don't worry, just continue
with the next window. |
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Window 11
This tells us there are 48 plans available in Zip
Code 78217, which we had entered earlier.
Go to Option B and click on "Enter
your medications." |
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Window 12
At this point you need a list of all the
prescription drugs you are taking.
In this window we entered “Lipitor” to use as an
example. |
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Window 13
After we entered Lipitor on the previous page,
this page comes up.
It offers the opportunity to add additional
drugs.
It also shows our selection of Lipitor and notes
there is no generic substitute.
We clicked on “Continue with Selected Drugs”
to go to the next window. |
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Window 14
Now you can enter your dosage of the drugs you
selected or just click “Continue with Common Dosage,” which we
did. |
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Window 15
 Finally, the plans.
These are the first of the 48 plans available in Zip Code 78217.
Note they start with the lowest “Estimated Annual Cost” and go
higher.
You
can click three plans in the boxes on the far left to compare
them.
More detailed information about each plan is available in the
window – “View Cost Details.”
Note
it shows there are “4” pharmacies in Zip Code 78217 that serve
the first plan. If you click on the “4” it will list those
pharmacies and allow you to widen the search.
Finally, if you have selected a plan, you can click on “Enroll”
and finish your chore. |
Before you select a plan, you can estimate your
savings, if you have available what you are paying now. There are,
however, several things to factor in – for example, are you know getting
your drugs at a discount with a Medicare discount card (this may not be
a big factor because the prices in these plans are supposed to be
discounted, too.) Another key factor is that prices of drugs are certain
to increase next year and many are estimating a 10 percent increase.
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The biggest unknown, of course, is what drugs you
will need in the future that you are not now taking. No one can really
answer that one.
Currently, I take no prescription drugs but I do
plan on signing up for a plan. My choice will be one that offers a very
low monthly premium, which will probably mean higher copays and
deductibles. But, I think all of us over 65 can rest assured we will
need prescription drugs in the not too distant future, and we should
look at this is an insurance policy to protect us from future
catastrophic needs.
Then, too, you have to remember, there will be a
penalty for not enrolling in this initial enrollment period.
For more information and help on the Medicare Drug Program,
visit our index page at -
http://www.seniorjournal.com/AboutDrugPlan/AboutDrugsHome.htm
You can also check all the latest news on the
program at -
http://www.seniorjournal.com/MedicareDrugProgram.htm
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