No More 'Donut Hole'—Discover How Medicare Is Changing!
Might be a good idea to review your Medicare coverage
Good morning,
It’s that time of year again.
Medicare open enrollment started on October 15th and runs through December 7th.
Many people sign up for Medicare once they turn 65, and never look at their coverage options again.
I suggest a different, better approach.
I’ve written about Medicare before:
But starting next year, Medicare is making some important changes to its prescription drug coverage.
The biggest change is that there will be a limit on how much you’ll have to pay for your medicines.
If you have Medicare Part D (this is your Medicare prescription drug plan), you won’t have to spend more than $2,000 a year on your prescriptions.
After that, you won’t have any more costs for the rest of the year for your covered medicines.
Another new option will let you pay your out-of-pocket medicine costs in smaller, monthly payments, instead of paying a lot at once. This makes it easier to budget for the year.
The “donut hole,” a gap where you used to have to pay more for your medicines, is going away completely. This will help by keeping drug costs more predictable throughout the year.
These changes are designed to help make Medicare more affordable, but - and here’s the important part - it’s important to review your drug plan during open enrollment, as some plans might change their prices or their covered drugs.
Since Medicare is capping the cost of prescriptions, some of these costs are being shifted to the insurance companies.
As a result, many Medicare Part D drug plans are going up in cost.
And drug plan formularies can change from year to year and the meds you need to take can change as well.
Once again, it’s a good idea to review your Part D drug plan annually during open enrollment.
Worst case scenario… you confirm that you have the right plan at the best cost for your needs.
I have a health insurance partner that can help you decipher the often-confusing information and updates these insurance companies send to you.
If you’re a client and you’d like some assistance make a more informed Medicare decision this year - and in the future - just let me know.
I’ll be happy to make an introduction.
There’s no cost to you.
If you have any questions about Medicare or if you need anything else, please let me know.
Thank you for reading…
Any additional thoughts? Suggestions? Feedback?
Hit reply or leave a comment and share what’s on your mind…
Until next Wednesday,
Russ