Medicare Part D
Provides Prescription Drug Coverage

Medicare part D is offered to everyone enrolled in the Medicare program. It is a form of prescription drug coverage that is provided by an approved insurance company or private company. Therefore to get coverage for your medications, you must join one of these third party programs. These vary in cost and in drugs covered.

There are two ways you can get Medicare part D to help pay for your medications. If you have original Medicare, you can opt for a Medicare prescription drug plan, or PDP. PDPs can also add drug coverage to medicals savings accounts, private fee for service plans, and Medicare cost plans.

The other way to get Medicare part D is through a Medicare health plan. These plans work like PPOs or HMOs and combine benefits for Medicare parts A and B along with prescription drug coverage. When drug coverage is added to Medicare health plans, they are called MA-PDs.

As we age, we tend to have a greater need for various medications, so a Medicare part D plan is usually beneficial for people over the age of 65. Even if you don't take any regular drugs when you are first eligible for Medicare, you may want to enroll in part D anyway so you won't have to pay penalties and higher premiums for enrolling at a later time.

If you are enrolled in Medicare part A and/or Medicare part B, you are eligible to sign up for coverage under a Medicare prescription drug plan. If you want coverage through a Medicare health plan, you must have both parts A and B. In addition, you must live in the service area of the drug plan you want to enroll in.

The amount you have to pay each month will vary according to your individual circumstances. You may have to pay a monthly fee or you may not have to pay anything. Medicare coverage is confusing for many people and Medicare part D is one of the more confusing aspects of it. You'll want to be sure you understand your drug plan and how much it will cost you because you may not be able to switch plans for a full year.

Medicare part D plans usually operate on tiers and each drug is assigned to a tier. Drugs that are in a low tier are the least expensive. Top tier drugs are the most expensive and your prescription plan may require that you try a similar or generic drug that is in a lower tier before paying for the most expensive drug.

The drugs that are covered by a Medicare part D plan and the price you have to pay are compiled into a database called a formulary. This data changes frequently and you should be able to access current data on the website of your plan provider. Drugs fully covered on one plan may have a high copay on another so it is wise to check the stats on the drugs you regularly take among different drug plans.

You can sign up for a Medicare part D plan during your eligibility period which is the seven month period around your birthday to include the three months before and three months after your birthday month. You can also sign up or switch plans during open enrollment at the end of every year. If you drop your current plan and do not pick up another one within 63 days you may be subject to penalties.

You can make paying for Medicare part D more convenient by having the premiums taken directly out of your social security check before you even receive your monthly payment. This is set up through your drug plan and not through Medicare itself.

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