How is your Medicare Part D Prescription Drug or Medicare Advantage plan changing in 2012?

As you probably know by now, many people do not change their Medicare Part D or Medicare Advantage plan each year -- even when they may be able to save money on their prescription drugs and medical costs by joining another Medicare plan.

So, if you decide to stay with your current Medicare plan coverage, please remember that Medicare Part D prescription drug plan and Medicare Advantage plan costs and coverage details can (and usually do) change every year -- so be prepared for the changes to your current plan in 2012.

How could your Medicare Part D prescription drug plan change in 2012?

Next year, you may see changes in:

•         Monthly Medicare Part D prescription drug plan (or PDP) premiums (how much you pay each month for your plan),
•         The amount of your plan’s initial deductible (that is, the amount you pay before your coverage begins),
•         Your plan’s Initial Coverage Limit (the point when you enter the Donut Hole or Coverage Gap),
•         Your Donut Hole or Coverage Gap benefits (whether your plan pays anything in the Coverage Gap),
•         Your plan’s drug cost-sharing design (co-payments, such as $40 for brand-name drugs and co-insurance, such as 25% for specialty medications),
•         Medications covered on your plan’s formulary or drug list (the medications covered this year may not be covered next year),
•         $0 premium Low-Income Subsidy status (plans may no longer qualify for the $0 premium and you may pay a monthly premium), and
•         Your plan’s Medicare “Star” or quality rating

Bottom Line: If you do not enroll into a new Medicare Part D plan or Medicare Advantage plan, you will be automatically re-enrolled into your current Medicare Part D or Medicare Advantage plan for 2012 and your 2012 Medicare plan may cost you more money and provide different coverage than in 2011. The good news is that you still have plenty of time to review your 2012 Medicare plan coverage options during the Annual or Open Enrollment Period ending at midnight on December 7th.

Would you like to learn more about your annual Medicare plan changes? You can click here and send us your question on this site

We also have several online-tools that can help you learn more about your 2012 Medicare Part D plan changes and plan option, such as our 2011/2012 PDP-Compare tool that you can find here (with Ohio chosen as the example state) on this site

If you would like to browse all available 2012 Medicare Part D prescription drug plans, you can click here for our Medicare Part D prescription drug plan finder or PDP-Finder (with Pennsylvania chosen as the example state) on this site

If you would like to browse all available 2012 Medicare Advantage plans (with and without prescription coverage), you can click here to find our Medicare Advantage plan finder or MA-Finder (with Miami-Dade County, Florida chosen as the example service area) on this site