If you have drug coverage through an employer or union and will also get the extra help paying for your drug costs, talk to your employer/union or the benefits administrator of your employer or union health insurance coverage.
You may not need both Medicare drug coverage and your current drug coverage.
In fact, you may not be able to add Medicare Part D coverage to your current Employer Coverage without being automatically disenrolled from your entire Employer Health plan (usually you cannot just add or substitute Medicare Part D coverage for your Employer prescription drug coverage, even when it is not creditable coverage).
Compare how much your costs are with your current drug coverage to what your costs will be with Medicare drug coverage and the extra help.
Remember: If you drop your current employer or union coverage, you might not be able to get it back.
If you had Medicaid drug coverage:
If you did not join a Medicare drug plan yourself, Medicare enrolled you in a plan, even if you also have drug coverage through an employer, union, TRICARE, VA, or FEHB.
If you do not want to be enrolled into a Medicare drug plan, you must opt out of (decline) Medicare drug coverage so you are not auto-enrolled into another plan.
If you do want to be enrolled into a Medicare drug plan, you need to see how it will affect your current coverage. In some cases, employers or unions have rules that say you cannot have both a Medicare drug plan and your employer/union plan.
Your current coverage may end for you and your dependents. It is important that you talk to your employer/union or the benefits administrator of your current coverage before making any decisions.
You will NOT be auto-enrolled in a Medicare drug plan if your employer or union is claiming you for the retiree drug subsidy. (Medicare is offering this subsidy to employers and unions to encourage them to keep providing high quality prescription coverage.)
(Additional source: U.S. Department of Health & Human Services)