by Gabriel Levitt, Vice President, PharmacyChecker.com and Margaret Rode, PharmacyChecker.com | Sep 2, 2010 | Healthcare Reform, Medicare Drug Plans
About three million seniors enrolled in Medicare may have to switch their prescription drug benefit plan next year, says TheHill.com. The changes are due to provisions of the healthcare law that seek to make it easier for people to choose Medicare Part D plans. However, the process of change itself may be messy for many. The purpose is to create fewer plans per region by requiring that plan sponsors drop plans that offer no “meaningful differences” from other plans offered by those same sponsors. Prior to the passage of healthcare legislation, many experts had criticized the number of available plans as too complicated and called for such streamlining.
But critics point out that these changes break the Obama administration’s promise that consumers can keep their current plans. The final changes are yet to be determined, but they are expected to make things easier for first time enrollees and more difficult for customers already participating in the plans.
Unfortunately, some Medicare enrollees discover that their plans do not cover the drugs they need, forcing them to pay out-of-pocket for such products. Comparing prices online at PharmacyChecker.com can help.
To read and write reviews of Medicare drug plans, see our sister site, MedicareDrugPlans.com.
Tagged with: drug benefit plan, health, Medicare Drug Plans, medicaredrugplans.com, Part D
by Gabriel Levitt, Vice President, PharmacyChecker.com and Margaret Rode, PharmacyChecker.com | Jun 24, 2010 | Drug Importation
At the beginning of the 21st century, what started out as a trickle of American seniors buying drugs in Canada in order to save money, turned into millions of Americans over the past decade buying their drugs from Canadian and other international pharmacies. At that time, the demand was largely due to the fact that Medicare did not include a drug benefit, and tens of millions of seniors had to pay entirely out-of-pocket for their prescriptions drugs. Not only has this industry helped millions of Americans afford prescription drugs and created public awareness about international drug price disparities, but it has affected U.S. healthcare policy, leading to greater health coverage. (more…)
Tagged with: Canadian pharmacies, Dorgan, Drug Prices, Healthcare Reform, international pharmacies, Medicare, Medicare Drug Plans, Online Pharmacies, policy, seniors, Snowe
by Gabriel Levitt, President, PharmacyChecker.com and Prescription Justice | May 6, 2010 | Medicare Drug Plans
Seniors and others on Medicare have enough trouble affording their prescription drugs and navigating the rough waters of finding the right drug plans. That there are con artists on the loose seeking to extract payments from the unsuspecting senior adds insult to injury. But savvy seniors will not be taken!! Here are the scams to look out for…
- Door-to-door salespeople and off-hours calling; agents must have an appointment and cannot call before 8a.m. or after 9p.m.
- Agents with invalid licenses. Confirm that they are valid and authorized.
- Agents asking for personal information (social security number, bank accounts) before first bill has been received. The Social Security Administration will never contact you over the phone or by e-mail.
- Unverified plans; check with 1-800-MEDICARE or www.medicare.gov.
- Prizes or rewards in exchange for enrolling.
Source: InjuryBoard.com
You can read and write reviews of Medicare drug plans at www.medicaredrugplans.com.
Tagged with: Medicare, Medicare Drug Plans, seniors
