If you or a loved one has Medicare, this is an important time for you--open enrollment begins on October 15.
Anyone who has a Medicare D plan should take a few minutes and review your current plan, and compare it with the other plans that are available. Each year premiums and formularies, or lists of drugs change, so the plan you have now might not be the most economical. I have heard that most plans are going to cost about 4% less for 2012, so that will be good for most people.
The easiest way to compare plans is online, at www.medicare.gov. Once at the homepage, you will click on "Compare Drug and Health Plans", in the top middle of the page. On the next page you will type in your zip code and then click the button that says "Find Plans".
The next few pages ask for information to help search for plans. You will need to know if you have original Medicare or if you have an Advantage Plan, and you will need to know if you get any help from Medicaid or if you get extra help through Social Security.
You will be able to enter the prescription medications you take during Step 2. In some instances you may not be able to find a medication you take; if that happens, then that is a medication that Medicare does not provide coverage for. You will have to pay full price for any medication that falls into that category. When you have entered the names and dosages of all your medications, you will be able to select your pharmacy. It's a good idea to look not only at your usual pharmacy, but at others as well, because prices might differ.
During the final step, you can refine the search. For example, you might want to refine the search by premium price or by rating. You will also want to choose the type of plan you are looking for: A) plans with traditional Medicare; B) Health plans with drug coverage; or C) Health plans without drug coverage.
Once you get to the list of available plans, you can sort the list in a number of ways, and you can compare different plans. When you identify the plan is best for you, you can enroll online, or you can call the plan to enroll. If you change plans, you do not need to notify your existing plan; the new plan will take care of that.
Open enrollment ends on December 7, 2011.
