To provide the best assistance, volunteers will need a list of medications, prescribed dosage the individual takes, name of preferred pharmacy, Medicare card information and any notices from an existing plan (i.e., Annual Notice of Change), Social Security, or Medicare about changes to costs and coverage for next year. While seniors in sparsely-populated Alaska enjoy an average of only 19 Part D plans, many populous states in country have an average of 28 available plans, including California, Texas, Illinois, Michigan, Missouri and Virginia.
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In 2016, the number of Medicare Part D plans has decreased by 115 plans and the number of Part D plans available for Low Income Subsidy (LIS) patients has also decreased by 66 plans.
Similarly, more prescription drug plans are imposing deductibles on enrollees.
Deal with insurance agents only after you identify the right plan for you.
The analysis also found that a significant portion of beneficiaries who are not eligible for low income subsidies will be paying more than $60 a month if they stay enrolled in the same plan. “With the help of iMedicare, we are now able to empower both pharmacy teams and patients with details on how plan designs can impact a patient when it comes to both cost and pharmacy choice”.
You’ll want to check out your Medicare policies for next year. The primary reason: They simply do not comparison shop.
The annual enrollment period is October 15 to December 7.
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“In order to become a more informed consumer about Medicare and benefits changes in 2016, now is the time to sign up to take one of our workshops at different locations in Tucson, Oro Valley and Green Valley this month”, affirmed Hartell. Time is running out to determine the best plan for next year.
