by PharmacyChecker.com | Nov 15, 2010 | Medicare Drug Plans
Open Enrollment is the period between November 15th and December 31st each year when Medicare enrollees can sign up for Part D prescription drug coverage, or if they are already enrolled, cancel their current plan, or switch to a different plan. Open enrollment is the time to research, rate and compare the plan options so that you pick the plan that’s best for you. A month and a half means you don’t have to and should not rush to a decision…
The enrollment period can be confusing enough for Medicare members, and this year’s changes that come with the health reform may make sign-up decisions even more complicated. We therefore recommend MedicareDrugPlans.com as a very helpful site that gives you access to honest plan reviews from your peers.
On MedicareDrugPlans.com you can sort plan options by name, company, location, overall rating or individual rating (i.e.: information received from plan, customer service, choice of drugs, cost of plan, and ease of use). There are plan profiles for all plan options offered in 2011 and forums about the drug plans, and related Medicare issues, on which you can ask questions or add your input. This means you can find important information about the plans and what others have experienced using them. You may discover which plans covered all of a member’s drugs without problems or which have great or not-so-great customer service – all from a community of consumers just like you.
Tagged with: affordable prescriptions, forums, health, health reform, Healthcare Reform, Medicare, Medicare Drug Plans, medicaredrugplans.com, Open Enrollment, Part D, ratings, reviews, United States
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
