Cost Of Medicare Part B

Cost Of Medicare Part D

Medicare was never simple to understand but recent additions made it even more difficult. Instead of identifying the parts with a name people could relate to the use, they use letters. Part A and B are the original parts of Medicare. Part A is free and it pays hospital and skilled nursing facility bills. However, in order to receive its benefits for the skilled nursing facility, you must first be in a hospital and then moved to the facility. It does also include some home health care and payment for hospice.

Part B is the traditional coverage that pays for other things like the services of your doctor or medical supplies. By 1997, Congress realized that there were managed health care programs that offered many more benefits for the same cost as Medicare. It passed part C, the Medicare Advantage program that allowed Medicare recipients to use private plans for coverage.

Part D Medicare began in 2006 and filled a gaping hole in the Medicare part A and B plans. It covered prescription drug costs for seniors on part A and B. Many seniors keep their visits to doctors and hospitals lower because of prescription drugs, yet often these same drugs cost a large portion of their retirement benefits. Medicare Part D defrayed this expense.

There are a number of plans for Medicare recipients to sort through. Some have a deductible that you must first pay out of your pocket but most of them don’t. There are differences in the types of medicines covered because some plans offer bonus drugs that weren’t included in the original Medicare proposal. Examples of these are prescription vitamins and Viagra.

Choosing the right Medicare part D plan depends on your prescription needs. Some plans are limited, but if you only take an antibiotic occasionally, they’re far cheaper and save you money. Other plans offer more coverage but also cost more. These types of plans are particularly important for the senior that takes several expensive pills every day. The price of the insurance is more but the coverage leaves them with a savings.

If you’ve followed the health care debate, you’ve heard the term donut hole used frequently. This time, the name fits quite well. The outside of the donut is delicious and why we all buy them. As you eat it, the outside disappears and you get to the center. There’s nothing there. That’s what happens to many people with expensive prescription drugs.

Most part D plans only cover $2250 worth of prescriptions per year. If the insured spends that amount in prescription drugs by September, they still have premium to pay to the end of the year. However, they no longer receive any benefits.

Just like a donut hole, there’s the other side of the donut. If you bills for prescription drugs reach the catastrophic level, $5100 for the year, then that you again have coverage. Most seniors, however, fall short of that amount but do run out of coverage before the year ends. An example would be a person paying $250 a month in prescription drugs, an amount paid by many seniors today. In nine months, they’d use all the Part D benefits and reach the donut hole. Since there drug costs are static, they would only reach $3,000 by the end of the year, but still have to make premium payments.