by PharmacyChecker.com | Oct 14, 2011 | Medicare Drug Plans
If you are eligible for Medicare Part D (Drug Plans), you should be aware that 1) open enrollment starts tomorrow, October 15th and 2) you can now research Medicare Part D plans on our site MedicareDrugPlans.com. On the site you find out which plans are rated best (or worst) by people enrolled in them. You’ll also get the 2011 pricing information for every plan in each U.S. state and territory. The information is completely objective – we are not affiliated with any plan.
If you are already enrolled in a Part D plan, MedicareDrugPlans.com allows you to rate and review your current plan, so others can learn from you.
To actually sign up for a plan, we recommend using the government’s website, Medicare.gov – at which you can best determine which plan covers all the prescription drugs you take. Comparing costs and features can be crucial to your health and your finances. Annual deductible, monthly premium and drug coverage (especially in the “doughnut hole”) are important to consider when choosing or changing your prescription plan.
This year the average premium nationally is $55, actual $1 lower than last year! The standard deductible, on the other hand, increased from $310 to $320. Less than ten plans offer coverage through the doughnut hole. However, under the new health care law, brand name drugs are now 50% off through this coverage gap period.
As open enrollment begins, Medicare enrollees interested in a drug plan are urged to research carefully. Whatever plan you choose will go into effect starting January 1st, 2011 and last for one full year – so get it right! Go to www.MedicareDrugPlans.com now.
Tagged with: deductible, doughnut hole, health care, Medicare, Medicare.gov, Open Enrollment, Part D, premium, prescription drug plans, ratings, United States
by PharmacyChecker.com | Oct 10, 2011 | Drug Prices, Medicare Drug Plans
An article published last week in Reuters suggests that Medicare Part D drug plans may be dropping premium prices – an effect of the healthcare reform law which could greatly benefit seniors if they shop around. Reevaluating your Medicare drug plan yearly during the open enrollment period is always a good idea, but this year plan selection could make a big difference.
Although we reported in August that plan premiums will not raise in 2012, Avalere Health, a health policy consulting firm, finds that while 10 of the top Part D plans will lower prices, six plans will raise premiums. However, the good news is that in the larger picture Avalere “projects that average premiums for both prescription drug and Advantage plans will fall 4 percent for 2012.” Because of the 2010 heath reform law, Dan Mendelson, Avalere Health’s CEO, is calling this a “year of change.” He tells Reuters, “It’s a year where patients really need to shop.”
MedicareDrugPlans.com provides ratings and reviews – along with basic plan information such as deductibles and premiums– for consumers to access during their research period. Ratings and comments help Medicare enrollees understand the pros and cons of a plan, and user comments and forum posts give details on what other Americans experienced with their plans.
Open enrollment will be from October 15th – December 7th this year, a change from previous years meant to give Medicare enough time to process all changes and new enrollees, and for consumers to manage their health needs before the busy holiday season.
Tagged with: Avalere Health, deductibles, Drug Prices, Medicare, Medicare Drug Plans, Medicare Part D, medicaredrugplans.com, Open Enrollment, premiums, Reuters, save money
by PharmacyChecker.com | Oct 3, 2011 | Drug Prices
Last week, Roger Bate, an economist and expert in counterfeit drugs with the American Enterprise Institute, wrote an article called “Google’s Ad Freedom Wrongly Curtailed.” Bate’s piece shows how banning safe foreign online pharmacies from advertising on Google and elsewhere is not only unethical but will lead to sub-optimal health outcomes. As we wrote at the end of August, the non-prosecution agreement between the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and Google, in which the search engine was fined $500 million for allowing rouge Canadian sites to advertise controlled substances, is good because it forces Google to now block dangerous rogue online pharmacies from advertising. At the same time, however, it’s bad because it appears to prevent Google from allowing safe and affordable Canadian-based online pharmacies form advertising as well.
The DOJ/Google settlement appears to reflect the false rhetoric espoused by the U.S. government and pharmaceutical industry that only U.S. online pharmacies can be safe. Bate knows this is not true based on his own empirical studies, which found that properly credentialed non-U.S. online pharmacies sell genuine medication at a lower cost and require a prescription. By blocking safe Canadian pharmacies from advertising to Americans on Google, it is more difficult for needy Americans to find them. Bate writes:
Google’s current policy removes the potentially lethal sellers, but by disallowing credentialed foreign sites from advertising it will harm public health. The tens of millions of uninsured Americans who cannot afford their drugs will go online to circumvent this obstruction. If they are unaware of pharmacychecker.com’s credentialing, they will play Russian roulette and may end up buying a lethal product.
With media outlets and politicians inundated with a voracious pharmaceutical industry public relations assault that seeks to paint all non-U.S. online pharmacies as rogue, the victim here is the American seeking affordable medication online because he or she can’t afford it here at home. Bate wrote: “What is surprising is that independent groups, like Consumer Reports and AARP, have bought into this industry rhetoric or have failed to properly explain to their members that foreign doesn’t necessarily mean dangerous.” (more…)
Tagged with: AARP, adSense, advertising, AEI, American Enterprise Institute, Americans, Canada, Canadian pharmacies, Consumer Reports, controlled substances, Department of Justice, DOJ, Google, Online Pharmacies, pharmacychecker.com, Roger Bate, rogue pharmacies, safe pharmacies, United States
