Joining a Medicare drug plan is always your choice. You are not required to join a Medicare drug plan; it is optional.

If you have CHAMPVA and you join a Medicare prescription drug plan (which is considered Other Health Insurance (OHI)), your Medicare Part D plan will be the primary payer and CHAMPVA will be the secondary payer. This means that after your Medicare Part D plan is billed and you pay your copayments, CHAMPVA will reimburse your copayments up to 100% of the CHAMPVA allowable amount for prescriptions. You will then be responsible for any costs not covered by your Medicare Part D plan and CHAMPVA.

CHAMPVA prescription drug coverage is considered creditable prescription drug coverage, meaning it is at least as good as Medicare prescription drug coverage. This means that if you decide you want to join a Medicare prescription drug plan after you were first eligible, you won't have to pay a late enrollment penalty. You must join during a valid enrollment period.

If you are enrolled in a Medicare prescription drug plan and then become eligible for CHAMPVA, you would qualify for a special enrollment period to disenroll from your Medicare Part D plan, however you may find it useful to maintain both CHAMPVA and a Medicare Part D plan.

If you have limited income and resources, you may qualify for extra help that pays your Medicare prescription drug plan costs. If you think you may qualify, you should apply for the extra help and join a Medicare drug plan. You can still keep your CHAMPVA coverage as a secondary payer.

If you are enrolled in the CHAMPVA Meds by Mail program and you join a Medicare prescription drug plan, you will no longer be eligible for Meds by Mail. This is because Meds by Mail is only for those who do not have any other drug coverage.

For more information, you can call CHAMPVA at 1-800-733-8387 or visit www.va.gov/health-care/family-caregiver-benefits/champva/ on the web.