Medicare Drug Program Price Increases to Slow for
2010, According to New CMS Data
Medicare-PartD.com releases projections and 2010 PDP-Planner to
give seniors head start on next year
Feb. 22, 2009 The Medicare Part D prescription
drug plan will cost senior citizens more in 2010, but the increase will
be considerably less than past years, according to the private website,
Medicare-PartD.com, which says the projection is based on information
recently released by the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
Medicare Part D plan parameters, such as initial
deductible, initial coverage limit and out-of-pocket threshold limits,
will increase in 2010 by 3.13% as compared to the 7.54 % increase in
2009.
Raises concerns about health, increased costs of
healthcare; authors suggest policy change to mandate the coverage of
generic drugs through modest increase in co-pays
An online summary comparing the CMS Medicare Part D
defined standard benefit parameters from 2006 through 2010 are available
at
www.Medicare-PartD.com/2010. The Website cautions that several of
the 2010 low-income subsidy or extra-help values are still tentative and
will be finalized as additional information becomes available.
To help seniors and other Medicare beneficiaries
better understand the 2010 changes in the Part D plan benefit
parameters, Medicare-PartD.com has also released its online
2010 PDP-Planner tool.
PDP-Planner allows users to visualize how they
could potentially move through their Medicare Part D plan from initial
deductible (if applicable) into the initial coverage phase, through the
coverage gap, and maybe even into the catastrophic coverage portion of
their Medicare Part D coverage.
Unfortunately, even with three years of
experience, we are finding that many people are still having difficulty
understanding the coverage provided by their current Part D plans,
noted Dr. Susan Johnson, technical director of the Medicare-PartD.com
website.
It is our hope that the 2010 PDP-Planner will help
Medicare Part D beneficiaries visualize prescription spending during the
various phases of next years Part D plan coverage. To help people get
started, we have provided a
few PDP-Planner examples for those unfamiliar with the phases of a
Medicare Part D prescription drug plan.
Users of PDP-Planner can enter estimated retail
prescription costs based on their current drug spending and, if desired,
change Medicare Part D plan parameters values, such as the initial
deductible, to get an idea of how they will move through the phases of
their Part D plan.
For instance, a senior who chooses a 2010 Part D
plan modeled after the CMS defined standard plan will notice the slight
increase in the initial deductible limits. The 2010 initial annual
deductible will increase to $305 from the current 2009 value of $295.
Beneficiaries will enter the 2010 donut hole or
coverage gap when the total retail cost of their prescription drug
purchases reaches the initial coverage limit of $2,780, an $80 increase
over the 2009 Initial Coverage Limit of $2,700.
In addition, people who enroll into a standard
benefit plan with high prescription drug costs can begin to prepare for
increases in total out of pocket expense (or TrOOP) that they must
personally spend before exiting the donut hole and entering the
catastrophic coverage portion of their prescription drug plan. The out
of pocket threshold will increase to $4,500 in 2010 from the current
2009 value of $4,350.
Our PDP-Planner is designed to provide an
estimate based on the CMS defined standard benefit and, although most
private Medicare Part D plans offer a variation of deductibles and
cost-sharing options, we find that this defined standard benefit acts as
a good benchmark for upcoming Part D coverage, added Dr. Johnson.
PDP-Planner is available at no cost and users have
the option to have a copy of their PDP-Planner results sent directly to
them via eMail. The 2009 PDP-Planner can be found at
www.PDP-Planner.com/2010 and joins the other online tools,
resources,
the free monthly Medicare Part D Newsletter, and tutorials designed
to help Medicare beneficiaries, advocates, advisors, and insurance
agents navigate the Medicare prescription drug program.
About the Website www.Medicare-PartD.com
Medicare-PartD.com is one of the largest private internet resources
for Medicare Part D prescription drug information. The website is
designed and operated by Q1Group LLC (Saint Augustine, FL).
Q1Group specializes in the design,
development and operation of complex, content intensive online systems.
Keep up with the latest news for senior citizens, baby
boomers
Feb. 22, 2009 The Medicare Part D prescription
drug plan will cost senior citizens more in 2010, but the increase will
be considerably less than past years, according to the private website,
Medicare-PartD.com, which says the projection is based on information
recently released by the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
Raises concerns about health, increased costs of
healthcare; authors suggest policy change to mandate the coverage of
generic drugs through modest increase in co-pays