subject: Can I Afford A Medicare Part D Premium? [print this page] Can I Afford A Medicare Part D Premium? Can I Afford A Medicare Part D Premium?
The reason is simple. Regardless of what the plan is, there is always a premium that needs to be paid.
Medicare Part D is one of the offspring of theMedicare Modernization Act of 2003. It began to take effect on 1/1/2006, when the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) extended prescription drug coverage to Medicare recipients. Medicare beneficiaries wanting to have prescription drug coverage can be charged the same premiums for Medicare Part B add-on benefits.
If you opt for Medicare Part D benefits, you will need to pay around $35 to $37 per month. Part D is not a stand-alone plan, so you will need to take out a Medicare Advantage Plan or a Prescription Drug Plan. If you're already excited about getting a Medicare Part D plan, we'd like to tell you that getting a Medicare Part D is not as easy as it sounds.
Across the United States there is practically a bushel ofMedicare Part Dplans, there can be as many as 100 plans by 25 different providers, which can mean a lot of comparison-shopping for you. But regardless of the plan, any plan is actually going to cost you money. Some plans charge fees on top of your Medicare Part B add-on fee (in 2005, the rate was at $78.20). On the other hand, some plans charge a combined premium for Part B and Part D. Premium price basically vary depending on the coverage.
Apart from the premiums, most Part D plans also charge a deductible on prescription drugs.
A standard Part D would require plan enrollees to pay $250 in deductible and charge 25% of the cost of prescription drugs until the yearly out-of-pocket costs total $2,275. The Part D recipient shoulders the costs beyond $2,251 and up to $5,100. If you're body is like a drugstore in that it requires a lot prescription drugs for maintenance, or if you need a few expensive prescription medicines to get by, Part D provides little or no safety net for your prescription drugs cost.
In choosing which Medicare Part D plan is best for you, you need to do the math on the actual costs of your plan.Medicare Part D plans actually come with sign-up penalties after the initial enrolment period. You can calculate your actual cost based on your sign up date, your chosen plan, the prescription drugs and how often you take them.
