News-Record.com

After my article this morning on rising Medicare Part D prescription-plan premiums was posted, I heard from Jeff Nelligan of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in Washington. He offered a link to a Department of Health and Human Services news release that says more than 90 percent of Americans with Part D plans will have access to a less-expensive plan in 2008.

Comparing plans by price alone is a minefield because each plan handles deductibles, copayments, and "gap" coverage differently. The "gap" occurs when prescription drug expenses exceed a certain amount for the year but do not yet approach the level at which catastrophic coverage kicks in.

He also included a news release specifically about Part D in North Carolina, which I'm posting here:

Fast Facts for North Carolina 2008

• 52 Medicare Prescription Drug Plans (PDPs) serve people with Medicare for 2008
• 25 PDPs offering enhanced benefits or services (unchanged from 2007)
• 99.9% of people with Medicare could switch to a PDP with a lower premium in 2008
• 30 PDPs have $0 deductibles
• 1 PDP has a premium under $20
• $14.50 is the lowest monthly premium for a PDP
• $30.00 is the lowest monthly premium for a PDP with generic coverage in the Gap
• 88.8% of people with Medicare in a Medicare Advantage plans with Drug Coverage (MA-PD) will have access to a plan with $0 premium
• 100% of people with Medicare in a MA-PD will have access to a plan with $0 drug deductible
• 348,092 people with Medicare already qualify for extra help with prescription drug costs
• 17 PDPs have a premium amount of $0 for people who qualify for the full extra help.

If you qualify, extra help could pay for almost all of your prescription drug costs. Apply now or get more information by calling Social Security at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778) or visiting http://www.socialsecurity.gov

Nelligan also passed along this news release regarding the Part D program generally:

Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Program

While no program, public or private is perfect, Part D has had extraordinary success in its short, 23-month life. Participation rates, satisfaction rates, savings, and coming in under budget – not what you’d expect from a government program. And to get to the most obvious point – the drug benefit is improving the lives of every single beneficiary enrolled.

1...Satisfaction rates are consistently range above 80 percent:

• Kaiser Family Foundation (June 2006): 80% satisfied
• J.D. Power and Associates (September 2006): 75% satisfied.
• Medicare Rx Education Network (January 2007): 80% satisfied
• Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) tracking survey (January 2007): 75% satisfied
• KRC Research (September 2007): 89% satisfied
• Voter/Consumer Research (October, 2007): 86% satisfied

2. The savings to beneficiaries is $1,200 annually.

3. The average monthly premium monthly is roughly $25, nearly 40 percent lower than when the benefit was established in 2003.

More than 90 percent of beneficiaries in a stand-alone Part D prescription drug plan will have access to at least one plan in 2008 with premiums lower than they are paying this year.

In 2008, beneficiaries in every state will have access to at least one prescription drug plan with premiums of less than $20 a month, and a choice of at least five plans with premiums of less than $25 a month.

Over 90 percent of people with Medicare will have access to a Medicare Advantage plan with Drug Coverage (MA-PD) for a $0 premium and with a $0 drug deductible.

There also are options that cover generic drugs in the coverage gap for as low as $28.70 a month. Nationwide, beneficiaries in any state can obtain a plan with coverage in the gap for generic drugs for under $50 a month.

4. The cost of the program has is $188 billion less (30 percent less), than estimated when the bill was passed. According to the CMS Office of the Actuary, the estimated cost of Part D for the 2004-2013 budget window was $633 billion. That cost is now estimated to be 445 billion.

5. Only 8 percent (of the 24 million) who lacked coverage in the gap had actual spending in the gap in 2006.

6. Generic utilization in Part D s 61.7 percent

7. CMS is making extraordinary efforts to reach out to the Low Income Subsidy (LIS) eligible beneficiaries, those who would receive the benefit for free. We are targeting potential LIS populations by zip code and then focusing outreach efforts in those areas.

The enrollment period for Medicare Part D plans begins today and ends Dec. 31. Follow the links in the "related links" box with my article to find online federal and state help in choosing a plan.