Our the drug finder® Drug Finder is located at on this site.
Here is a screenshot of our Drug Finder showing coverage for 10 mg Ambien tablets on all Medicare Advantage plans in Queens County, New York.
this site also provides a Formulary Browser allowing 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 Florida WellCare Value Script Medicare Part D plan (PDP).
- 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, in most cases, 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
Retail 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 copay ($30 per 30 pills), you may not notice the changes immediately. If you have cost-sharing in the form of coinsurance (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 Catastrophic Coverage before you can purchase other medications. You can read more in our section on Straddle Claims on this site
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/plan-compare/#/?year=2024&lang=en where you are able to enter multiple medications, see generic alternatives, and view an annual cost estimate at different area pharmacies.
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 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.