Retirees live on a fixed income, so it is extremely important to get the biggest bang for those bucks. One way to do that is to confirm that you have the best Medicare Part D prescription drug plan. Retirees can boost their spendable income by reducing their Medicare costs with the right drug plan that matches the medicines they take.
Now is the perfect time to check your Medicare Part D coverage. You can switch plans during the Annual Open Enrollment Period, which is from Oct. 15 through Dec. 7. If you switch plans, your Medicare Part D coverage will begin Jan. 1 and will continue for the entire year.
There are so many insurance companies that offer Part D plans it can be overwhelming to research them all. Part D plans are very different, and the costs can vary greatly depending on the plan you choose. Even for the same drugs, there can be differences in costs for each plan within the same city. Comparing Part D plans is crucial, and choosing the right one for you should be considered an important financial decision.
There are many reasons someone may want to switch their Medicare Part D plan. Your medications may have changed from when you originally picked a plan. The Part D plan that you chose has changed which drugs it covers. Or maybe the costs of your plan increased quite a bit the last few years.
All of these are good reasons to go shopping for a different Part D plan. Luckily, Medicare created a user-friendly tool to sift through all of the options and find the best plan for you. Go to Medicare.gov and click on the “Find health & drug plans” button to begin the process of finding the right plan for you.
Enter your zip code and start the search. There are several questions to answer. For instance, this tool needs to know your current medications and dosages. It will also let you know if there is a generic alternative to any of your prescriptions.
The end result is a list of Part D prescription drug plans available in your area showing monthly premiums, deductibles, and overall costs based specifically on your medicines. Having this information in one place makes it easy to compare plans.
Be sure to focus on the “Estimated annual drug costs” column of the search results. What you will discover is that the insurance plans with the lowest monthly premium will end up being the more expensive plans. This is because deductibles and copays are typically higher in these plans. Don’t fall into the trap of just focusing on the plan with the lowest monthly premium. It’s the total cost of premiums, deductibles and copays that matters to your budget.
By using the Medicare.gov tool, you can make a knowledgeable decision on a plan that best meets your needs. You will very likely be pleasantly surprised that there is a less expensive Part D plan to cover your prescriptions. So go ahead and give yourself a raise! Switch to that less expensive Part D plan.
Steve Doster is a Certified Financial Planner™ professional providing commission-free financial advice for do-it-yourself investors. You can reach Steve at Doster Financial Planning by phone 619-688-1192 or email steve@dosterfinancialplanning.com. You can also follow Steve on Facebook, Linked In, Twitter, or blog to get more personal finance advice and tips.
