The New Humana-Walmart Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Could Finally Help More Seniors Afford Their Medications

Oct. 1, 2010, Humana Inc. announced a new innovative Medicare Part D prescription drug plan, co-branded with Walmart Stores Inc., that can provide substantial savings on monthly plan premiums and prescription medicine copayments and cost-shares for Medicare beneficiaries, including seniors and people with disabilities according to a Business Wire .The new plan will be offered in all 50 states and D.C.

This new co-branded prescription drug plan can save a typical Medicare Part D beneficiary who enrolls in the plan an estimated average of more than $450 in 2011 on plan premiums and prescription medication co-payments when compared with the average total costs for a Part D prescription drug plan in 2010. With nearly 18 million Americans relying on Medicare Part D for their prescriptions the Humana Walmart-Preferred Plan (PDP) should provide an affordable prescription solution for those who need it most.

"One of the primary goals of health care reform (as most of us are aware of) is to make health coverage more affordable and that's what this plan will do," said the VP of Humana Pharmacy Solutions. He went on to say that "people will be more likely to use their prescribed medications when they can afford them and adhering to prescription-drug regimens can enable people to be healthier and help prevent future illness." This statement makes a lot of common sense, in my opinion. Prevention has been a known key to healthier living for generations. That's the reason we have flu shots, mammograms, exercising etc. Their main purposes are in most cases to help prevent an illness from occurring, which is also the purpose of taking medications as prescribed by ones doctor.

The president of Walmart's Health and Wellness division also said in the published article "that they know every dollar counts, especially when you're on a fixed income. We believe no one should have to choose between buying their groceries or their medications. Financial health is a fundamental part of a person's well-being," he said.

The PDP offers a monthly premium of less then $15.00 a month regardless of where you live and is known to be the lowest national premium in 2011 for a standalone Medicare Part D prescription drug plan which is offered in all 50 states. It is less than half the weighted 2010 national average for Medicare Part D prescription monthly premium plans. The low copayments on generic prescriptions start at $2.00 when plan members use preferred pharmacies.

For all the details on this plan and enrolling go to medicare.gov or humana-medicare.com or call Humana directly at 800-899-0441.

Medicare Part D is the prescription drug program supported by the federal government for anyone who may not be familiar with this program. I sincerely hope that this program will be of help to the many senior citizens out there who could not afford prescription drug coverage before.

In my opinion this new innovative prescription drug plan may have other pharmacists and insurance companies following suit in the near future in offering affordable prescription drug coverage for medicare recipients.

Source: www.businesswire.com/news/humana/Oct.01,2010
personal opinion