American Medical News reported last week, “Pharmacists have called on the agency overseeing the Medicare program to allow patients to switch their prescription drug plans outside of the normal open enrollment season after beneficiaries say they were misled by insurers.” This would mean a second chance for patients who feel they were not given all the details of the plan they are now stuck with for a year.
A large proportion of ratings and reviews found on our site – MedicareDrugPlans.com – certainly demonstrate the frustration of Medicare enrollees who are not happy with their plans. We would support such a “second chance” to find a better plan.
It appears that many patients who enrolled in Part D drug plans online, or with the Medicare Plan Finder on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services website, were promised zero co-pays. Since enrollment has closed, however, some patients have discovered that this no- to low-cost premium benefit is only available at specific, and often few, pharmacies. What’s worse, in many cases those pharmacies are not in their local neighborhood, but up to 25 miles away!
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services have kept quiet on the issue thus far, but this pharmacist plea for CMS to “create a special enrollment period that allows for patients who are dissatisfied with their Part D choices to select other plans” would help some Medicare enrollees save significant time and money.
