Here’s a Reliable Online Tool to Help You Choose a Part D Drug Plan!
It’s annual enrollment season again (October 15—December 7), the time of year when you can finally drop that drug plan you hate and shop a new one. The entirety of the drug plan market is available to you, and that’s exciting (well…as exciting as it gets with prescription drugs).
But it’s also overwhelming. I want to make sure you know that a drug plan is unique to you. It is based on your situation, your preferred pharmacy, your location, and—most importantly—your list of medications. It is a challenge to consider everything, especially if you don’t have the right tools.
This is why, on Medicare.gov, they have a shopping tool for drug plans. You put in all your information, and the system ranks all of the available drug plans based on total cost.
Total Cost is the Boss!
Total cost is not just the premium. It includes the premium, of course. But it takes into account all that you pay in an entire year in a given plan. This includes copays, coinsurance, deductibles and all the unexpected costs a plan may hide under the cloak of a low premium.
A plan may be $18.40 a month, but if it doesn’t cover one of your prescriptions or has excessive copays, it may not be the best-valued plan for you. This is why total cost should dictate your choices, not the premium.
Using the Medicare.gov drug plan shopping tool takes this into account, and it’s actually easy to use. Just follow these simple steps, and let it do the number crunching for you:
- Go to https://www.medicare.gov.
- Click on “Find health and drug plans”.
- Enter your zip code into the general search bar.
- When a pop-up window appears, choose your county.
- Enter your basic information.
- Enter your medications and dosage.
- Click “My Drug List is Complete”.
- Add your pharmacy.
- Select “Prescription Drug Plans (with Original Medicare)” and click “Continue to Plan Results”.
- Shop the available plans!
(Any questions or concerns? Just leave it in the comments. We love to hear from you!)
Good luck and happy Annual Enrollment Period! I recommend taking care of all the changes to your health care plans now, so that when the holidays roll around, (they’ll be here faster than you think; they always are!) you don’t have to deal with it!
In other words, focus on what needs to be done now, so you can focus on what really matters later.
Think you’re spending too much on Medicare Supplement Insurance? Call Seniormark at 937-492-8800 for a free consultation!
Be sure that you have covered all of your bases by downloading our handy “Annual Enrollment Checklist”!
About the Author
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