I have Medicare and get help from my State Pharmacy Assistance Program (SPAP) paying prescription drug costs
Several states have programs to help certain people pay for prescription drugs. Each state makes its own rules on how to provide drug coverage to its members. Depending on your state, the State Pharmacy Assistance Program (SPAP) will have different ways of providing you with help paying your prescription drug costs. Some SPAPs may require you to join a Medicare drug plan, and then they will cover the costs that Medicare doesn’t cover.
If you belong to an SPAP, you may have one additional opportunity each year to join a plan in addition to October 15 -- December 7. You can join a Medicare drug plan for the first time, one that works specifically with your SPAP, or you can switch to a different plan from the one your SPAP enrolled you in.
You will get more information from your SPAP about how Medicare prescription drug coverage affects the help you get now.
(Primary Source: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services - Your Guide to Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage 2008. This content may have been enhanced by this site to include further examples, explanations, and links.)