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-- Programs and Services -- Contact Information Medicare Part D Update: Open Enrollment ends December 31
The open enrollment period for the Medicare Part D prescription drug program ends December 31. Enrollments will be effective as of January 1, 2007. To avoid delays in receiving enrollment cards and other pertinent information, it is important to enroll by December 8, if at all possible, and not wait until the end of December. There is no guarantee that your required information will be available to the pharmacist by January 1 if your enrollment is at a later date in December. The Medicare website has information about the new 2007 plans and rates. If you are “internet savvy,” visit www.medicare.gov and see which plans and prices appear when you enter the names of your current prescriptions. If you would like a SHINE (Serving Health Information Needs of Elders) counseling appointment, either by phone or face to face, call your local Council on Aging or Elder Services SHINE program at 499-0524 or 800-544-5242.
If you are currently enrolled in a Medicare Part D drug prescription plan, now is the time to consider evaluating that plan, by looking at:
COST: Will your premium and costs change in 2007? For example, Humana, which offered the lowest-priced insurance last year, has raised its rates. Other companies have lowered rates or included “gap” coverage for generic drugs in their plans. So the landscape is different enough that many people will at least want to consider “reworking” their drug lists to see if different choices fl oat to the top.
COVERAGE: Do you need more coverage in 2007? Will the prescription drugs you take be covered by your plan in 2007? You may remember that we advised you to check back in with SHINE if there was a change in your health status, or a difference in your drug regimen. Adding one or two generic drugs probably doesn’t make much of a difference, but any change in brand-name products can trigger an entirely new scenario in terms of “best” choices.
CUSTOMER SERVICE: Are you satisfied with your plan’s service? If you are, be grateful! Even the best companies experienced some major glitches during the first three to six months of the program. If you did have a glitch, how responsive was the company to fixing your situation? Were the plan's customer service representatives helpful and sympathetic? Were they well-trained? If they weren’t well-trained were they honest about what they did and didn’t know? Did they attempt to help you resolve your problem?
In addition to the SHINE program, you may call 1-800-MEDICARE to inquire about program changes, or directly call the plan you are considering. As always, we encourage you to contact Elder Services SHINE Program if you are having difficulty with any aspect of your health insurance coverage.