No. We designed our Q1Medicare drug search tools for people who wish to quickly check the coverage of a single formulary medication across all Medicare Part D prescription drug plans (PDP) or Medicare Advantage plans that include prescription drug coverage (MAPD). Our Drug Finder is located at
Q1Rx.com.
Here is a screenshot of our Drug Finder showing coverage for the drug 10 mg Atorvastatin on all 2016 California Medicare Part D plans (PDPs).
We also provide a
Formulary Browser that allows people to see all the drugs covered by a specific Medicare prescription drug plan. Our
Formulary Browser can be found at
Formulary-Browser.com or using the "Browse Formulary" link on our
Medicare Part D Plan Finder or
Medicare Advantage Plan Finder.
Here is a screenshot of our Formulary Browser listing all drugs covered by the 2016 Florida AARP MedicareRx Preferred Medicare Part D plan (PDP).
Remember: No online tool can guarantee an accurate estimate of your annual Medicare Part D costs.
- Drug List Changes: Medicare Part D plans are allowed to
change their formularies or drug lists throughout the plan year and can
substitute generic medications for brand name drugs as the generics
become available. To clarify, Medicare Part D plans are not allowed to
drop a medication that you are using, but they are allowed to substitute
a generic equivalent for your brand name drug.
- Retail Price Changes: Drug prices can change throughout
the plan year and even though you are "locked in" to your plan through
December 31, your plan can raise the price of your medications. If you
have a fixed co-pay ($30 per 30 pills), you may not notice the changes
immediately. If you have cost-sharing in the form of co-insurance (25%
of retail) you may notice that your cost-sharing will increase during
the year and not resemble the drug cost estimate you had in October of
the previous year.
- Purchasing your drugs. Even the order in which you
purchase your medications (or the order in which your drug claims are
processed) will affect your total annual drug spending. If you purchase
an expensive medication as the first drug purchase of the plan year,
you may go though your entire coverage and into the Donut Hole or
Coverage Gap before you can purchase other medications. You can read
more in our section on Straddle Claims: q1medicare.com/faq/category/straddle-claims/121/
Using the Medicare.gov site to "estimate" annual prescription drug cost
Since drug prices and drug availability can change throughout the plan
year, only Medicare (the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services or
CMS) maintains the most current drug and pricing data. This means only
Medicare can provides the most accurate estimate of your annual drug
costs (and again, your estimate in October may not reflect what you
actually spend in May of the next year).
To get started, you can enter and save your medication list on the
www.Medicare.gov plan finder website found at
https://www.medicare.gov/find-a-plan/questions/home.aspx where you are
able to enter multiple medications, see generic alternatives, and view
an annual cost estimate at different area pharmacies.
If you have any difficulty, we also provide an online tutorial to help you use the Medicare.gov Plan Finder:
q1medicare.com/PartD-Medicare_PartDPlanFinderTutorial.php
To make life easier, you can also speak with a Medicare representative
to get information on all Medicare Part D or Medicare Advantage plan
options. To contact Medicare directly please call toll-free
1-800-633-4227, select the prescription drug option, and then choose the
option to speak with a Medicare representative or say "representative"
several times during the automated menu options.
Once connected, please explain your situation to a Medicare
representative and ask the Medicare representative to help you find a
Medicare Advantage plan or a Medicare Part D prescription drug plan that
most economically covers your health and medication needs - or you can
ask specific questions about a particular Medicare plan.
As you review plan options, you can ask the representative to provide
you with an estimated annual cost based on your health and medication
needs for any particular Medicare plan.
Preferred Pharmacy Pricing
You can also make sure that the Medicare representative knows about the
pharmacies you use or have available (and explains to you about the
possible cost differences between
preferred and non-preferred or standard network pharmacies).
Healthcare Providers
If you are enrolling into a Medicare Advantage plan, please be sure that
your healthcare providers are included in the plan's network (you can
contact the Medicare Advantage plan directly for more details).
Remember, Medicare Advantage plans are allowed to drop providers from
their network during the plan year. Please see: "
Can I get a Special Enrollment Period if my Medicare Advantage plan drops my doctor from the plan's network?"
Enrolling in your chosen plan
If you have found an acceptable Medicare plan, and you are eligible for
enrollment, the Medicare representative can also process your enrollment
into any Medicare Part D or Medicare Advantage plan directly over the
telephone - and the process only takes a few minutes (with an enrollment
confirmation code provided - that you should write down and store in a
safe place until your Medicare plan information arrives).
Medicare.gov provides unbiased information
Please note that a Medicare representative is not compensated for a
Medicare plan enrollment and provides you with an unbiased view of all
available Medicare Part D plans or Medicare Advantage plans.