Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Plan

When I checked my mail a couple of days ago, I discovered it was that time of year again. Time to decide whether my husband's prescription needs would be met next year with his current prescription drug coverage, or if it might be time to look around for a better part D prescription drug plan. My husband has had Unicare MedicareRx Rewards Premier for the last two years. Last year there were no significant changes to the plan. Next year, there are notable changes. We have to make a smart decision on his part d prescription drug plan because the decision is final for a year.

I tore into the large envelope. The first thing I noticed in the 2008 Annual Notice of Change was that the name of the plan was going to change. That's not a big deal, just annoying. The name of this plan next year will be MedicareRx Rewards Value. The second thing I noticed was the change in the monthly premium. I am usually pleased when something goes down in price, but in this case I expected it wasn't going to be a good thing. The monthly premium for next year will be $23.10 cheaper. That's a pretty good difference. I kept reading to see what would be disappearing with this premium decrease. I was also anticipating an increase in costs to us elsewhere. Just where these increases would be, I had an idea. I didn't have to wonder very long.

Co-pays for a month supply of generic prescriptions will be two dollars cheaper. Wow, considering Wal-Mart now provides many generic drugs for $4 now. Co-pays for a month supply of preferred brand drugs will cost $13.20 more next year than they did this year. Co-pays for a month supply of non-preferred brand drugs will be $20.00 more. A month supply of non-specialty injectables or specialty drugs will both cost 3% more. So, from what I see, generic prescriptions will cost us two dollars less and everything else will cost us over ten dollars more.

Coverage limits are changing too. Initial coverage limits will be $110 more, but catastrophic coverage begins at $200 later than last year. The next section grabbed my attention quickly. It read that our plan would no longer cover generic drugs during the coverage gap. They are removing the main reason we initially selected this plan. That means we pay full price when $2510 has been paid by the plan and ourselves until we reach $4050. That's an out of pocket cost of $1540. That means a period of no prescriptions or only a few prescriptions that we would be able to afford to purchase. Not a good thing when you are taking medication that carries a warning to not stop taking suddenly. I kept reading. If we reached catastrophic coverage next year, we would then pay slightly higher co-pays than was required last year, which was Insignificant, as far as I was concerned.

There was next a notice about how they planned to move some prescriptions to different tiers which would lower or raise the co-payment. Next was the notice of the changing formulary. Of course, to get a complete list, I had to go to the website. They recommend talking to your doctor about alternative drugs if your current prescription is not on the list. Some people can't take alternatives. Now, the letter says you or your doctor can request a formulary exception for your current drug, but I bet if you called they would tell you that they have to go through your doctor. In February of this year, I contacted them about an exception for a medication that was helping my husband greatly. The letter said you or your doctor can request the consideration of an exception. After contacting them, they would not even speak to us about it. Customer Service said the doctor had to contact them.

Now, Unicare was pleased to announce in this notice of change that we would receive a flier next year that we could show at most pharmacies to receive a discount on prescription drugs that aren't included on the plan's formulary for 2008. It can also be used by anyone else in the household for any drug. If you use the flyer, a card will be mailed to you. I saw this as a warning. It seems that Unicare is less about the people now and more about the money. I am disappointed.

I was a little irritated as I neared the end of this annual notice letter. There is a section that explains how you do nothing if you want to keep your coverage. They take care of it all for you. You just sit back and relax. If you do want to change plans, you must call a toll free number and request a change form.

Annual enrollment may not begin until November 15^th, but checking into part d prescription plans are time consuming. I'm getting a jump start to searching for the perfect plan. I prefer to use the Medicare.gov website. I can select where we live. I can list all the prescriptions with dosage amounts and quantities. Then, I have the choice to modify the pharmacy search before searching which part d prescription drug plans will cover the prescriptions my husband takes. I can view what each plan would cost us for a year including the premiums and deductibles. It is a very handy tool.

Our pharmacist gave us an envelope last week with information on the part d prescription plan used the most at our pharmacy. The premium is steep. I have more research to do before I can see if the coverage is worth the price. I certainly have my work cut out for me. I suggest anyone on part d prescription drug plans read the annual notices of change or ask a family member to if you can't understand it. It's an important decision.