Medicare Open Enrollment Just 5 Days Away; Seniors
Shocked at Drug Plan Price Increases
CMS urging senior citizens to start their research
now to save on costs in 2009; two private companies join forces to offer
plans online
Lois
Fitzpatrick and husband, Ken, are preparing to deal with an 85
percent increase in the monthly premium for her Medicare drug
plan that will come next year.
Read
report by Kansas City Star
Nov. 10, 2008 Medicare Open Enrollment the
window that opens each year for senior citizens to make changes in their
Medicare programs opens in five days on November 15. The attention is
on the Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Program, where many seniors are
finding their old plans have changed drastically and they are facing
large cost increases in 2009.
Even the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
has gone out of its way to warn seniors of the massive changes and urge
them to start doing their research now.
CMS Acting Administrator Kerry Weems has cautioned,
Some beneficiaries may see significant premium increases or changes,
such as reduced coverage in the gap, if they stay in the same
prescription drug plan in 2009.
He does not mention it, but many are
also seeing giant increases in the monthly premiums for the drug plans.
He does add that Almost 97 percent of
beneficiaries enrolled in a stand-alone prescription drug plan (PDP)
will have access to Medicare drug and health plans in 2009 whose
premiums would be the same or less than their coverage in 2008."
Many seniors complain, however, that these
lower-cost plans are very rare and offer very inferior products and
services.
The data for all the 2009 plans is now in the
computer at CMS and Weems says it is especially important for seniors
to use the online tools at Medicare.gov to compare their current drug
and health plan coverage to the options available for next year.
CMS anticipates that the Plan Finder site will
average close to one million page views per week, similar to the volume
experienced last year.
For the 2008 plan year, more than half a million
people enrolled online, a 49 percent increase over the number who
enrolled online for the 2007 plan year. More than 5.8 million people
with Medicare have enrolled online in a drug plan since the program
began.
How to Use Plan Finder
The 2009 Plan Finder allows beneficiaries to
compare prescription drug coverage from both stand-alone Prescription
Drug Plans (PDPs) and Medicare Advantage (MA) plans that provide
prescription drug coverage (MA-PD plans) and to view premiums,
formularies, and availability of coverage in the gap. Additionally, the
2009 Medicare Options Compare tool allows beneficiaries to compare
Medicare health plan options, such as HMOs and PPOs.
Plan Finder also helps beneficiaries search drug
plans for the best price and coverage include, estimated out-of-pocket
costs, pharmacy networks, and Medicare news and updates. CMS has added a
feature to allow beneficiaries to view estimated monthly mail order drug
costs in a bar-chart which can be compared to retail drug costs.
The Website also includes an enhancement that
allows senior citizens the potential to further reduce costs based on
the substitution of drugs which are lower cost but within the same
therapeutic class.
This feature allows users to choose among all less
expensive drugs available with similar functions, not just generic
products. CMS suggests, however, that beneficiaries discuss these
alternatives with their physicians.
CMS says beneficiaries should gather their Medicare
card along with information on their current medications for reference
as they use the online tools.
Additional useful information to have at hand may
include mailings they have received from Medicare, Social Security, or
their current drug plan.
Other
Medicare Enrollment News
Two Companies
Announce Partnership to Help Seniors Enroll for Medicare Drug
Plans
Medicare.com and DestinationRx say they
offer easy access to free Web-based tool
Nov. 10, 2008 - Medicare.com,
a private Website not to be confused with Medicare.gov, today
announced a new partnership with DestinationRX to provide
Medicare consumers easy access to a free Web-based tool for
comparing and enrolling in Part D drug plans during Open
Enrollment.
A news release today says,
Powered by DestinationRx, the user-friendly Plan Selectors on
Medicare.com, which is owned by Medx Publishing, will ask for
your zip code and what drugs you use. Once you enter the
information, you will get a side-by-side comparison of local
health plans. For each plan, the finder will list total annual
cost, drugs covered, and details about gap coverage. It is an
easy way for seniors to compare the cost and coverage of the
plans.
Bill Kimberlin, CEO of Medx
Publishing, Inc., advised seniors, "Don't assume your current
plan remains the best for you, as costs will go up in 2009.
Plans will be increasing premiums out-of-pocket costs and making
changes in the services and drugs they will cover.
Sorting through the costs
and coverage of all the plans out there can be overwhelming. The
goal of the partnership between Medicare.com and DestinationRX
is to provide seniors the best and easiest tools available to
compare plan costs, covered services and drugs."
Michael Cho, CEO of
DestinationRX. "Taking the time to use the tools on Medicare.com
will save them time and money."
Once users have chosen a
plan, they will also be able to enroll directly on Medicare.com.
The companies suggest that
until Open Enrollment begins, seniors should sign up on
Medicare.com to receive a reminder email of when enrollment
starts.
Owned by Medx Publishing, Inc., Medicare.com says it is a
leading publisher of Medicare information. It provides resources
and tools for making informed decisions on basic Medicare
coverage needs. Founded in 2004, Medicare.com is a
non-government resource with the mission of being an asset to
both the Medicare system and those who depend on it by providing
coverage information simply and straightforward.
With offices in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago and
Baltimore, DestinationRx says it lets consumers, for the first
time, get the information they need to find direct comparisons
on price, safety and therapeutic efficacy of drugs as well as
drug and health plans.
Enroll Early if Making Changes
The annual open enrollment period begins Nov. 15
and runs through Dec. 31, but CMS says those who wish to enroll for the
first time or change their coverage for 2009 should do so by early
December to ensure a smooth transition in the new plan year.
People without Web access can get the same
information provided by the online plan comparison tools by calling
1-800 MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227), by visiting their local State Health
Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) office for free personalized
counseling, or by attending one of the thousands of local enrollment
events taking place across the country through December 2008.
Beneficiaries can also get detailed plan
information and tips on selecting a plan through the 2009 Medicare & You
handbook, mailed last month. The handbook includes tips on selecting a
plan and an overview of plan options. Beneficiaries already enrolled in
a Part D plan or health plan will also receive an Annual Notice of
Change that describes any changes in the benefits of their current plan.
>> All Medicare help, including Drug Plan Finder
and Medicare Options Compare at
www.medicare.gov
Medicare beneficiaries with limited income and
resources, and those who are dually eligible for both Medicare and
Medicaid, may qualify for extra help paying for their Part D premium
through the low-income subsidy (LIS), provided by Medicare. CMS' Web
site is a comprehensive resource for beneficiaries who are eligible for
Medicare's extra help.
Lois
Fitzpatrick and husband, Ken, are preparing to deal with an 85
percent increase in the monthly premium for her Medicare drug
plan that will come next year.