Private Medicare – Medicare Part D – Compare Medicare Plans for 2017

Private Medicare – Medicare Part D is a federal program to subsidize the costs of prescription drugs for Medicare beneficiaries. It was enacted as part of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA) and has been in effect from January 1, 2006.

People are eligible for prescription drug coverage under a Part D plan if they are otherwise entitled to benefits under Medicare Part A and/or enrolled in Medicare Part B. Beneficiaries can obtain the Part D drug benefits through 2 types of private plans:

• Join a Prescription Drug Plan (PDP) for drug coverage only
• Join a Medicare Advantage plan (MA) that covers medical services and prescription drugs (MA-PD).

The second type of plan is actually part of Medicare Part C and has several other differences relative to original Medicare. Almost two thirds of Medicare Part D beneficiaries are enrolled in a PDP option.

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Not all drugs will be covered at the same level, giving participants incentives to choose certain drugs over others. This is often implemented via a system of tiered formularies in which lower-cost drugs are assigned to lower tiers and thus are easier to prescribe or cheaper.

You can switch into a new Medicare Part D plan for 2017 during the open enrollment period from October 15 to December 7, 2016. Premium prices, deductibles, and covered medications can change each year, so it’s a good idea to reevaluate whether your current plan will still be a good fit for you in the coming year.

If you are enrolled in a plan now and happy with what you have, the best thing to do is call your plan or go online and see how the coverage that you have might be changing,” says Juliette Cubanski, a policy analyst at the Kaiser Family Foundation. “What you have this year is not going to be exactly the same next year.”

Private Medicare – Medicare Part D If you are enrolled in a plan now and happy with what you have, the best thing to do is call your plan or go online and see how the coverage that you have might be changing,” says Juliette Cubanski, a policy analyst at the Kaiser Family Foundation. “What you have this year is not going to be exactly the same next year.”

Private Medicare – Medicare PartD 2017 | WPS Medicare Part D | Medicare Part D Donut