Medicare Part D and Medicare Advantage plans usually change their coverage each year and will send you an Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) letter that will detail these changes. Unfortunately, many people do not read their ANOC letter, stay with their same plan into the next year, and are surprised to find changes in their drug or healthcare coverage.
Annual plan changes can include such things as - changes in monthly premiums, changes in drug costs, changes in drugs that are covered by the plan, and changes in the initial deductible.
The following chart shows a few examples of 2015 Medicare Part D plans with increases to their initial deductible. As can be seen, members of the WellCare Classic plan, the First Health Part D Value Plus plan, the Express Scripts Medicare Choice plan, and the BlueMedicare Rx-Option 1 plan will have an initial deductible after having had first dollar coverage (or $0 deductibles) in 2014.
Annual plan changes can include such things as - changes in monthly premiums, changes in drug costs, changes in drugs that are covered by the plan, and changes in the initial deductible.
The following chart shows a few examples of 2015 Medicare Part D plans with increases to their initial deductible. As can be seen, members of the WellCare Classic plan, the First Health Part D Value Plus plan, the Express Scripts Medicare Choice plan, and the BlueMedicare Rx-Option 1 plan will have an initial deductible after having had first dollar coverage (or $0 deductibles) in 2014.
|
Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Deductible Increases |
||||||
| 2015 Plan Name | Deductible | States | Members Affected | |||
| 2015 | 2014 | Increase | % Incr | |||
|
WellCare Classic (PDP)
|
$320 | $0 | $320 | all states | 1,115,683 | |
| First Health Part D Value Plus (PDP) | $250 | $0 | $250 | all states | 452,209 | |
| Express Scripts Medicare - Choice (PDP) | $50 | $0 | $50 | all states | 58,713 | |
| BlueMedicare Rx-Option 1 (PDP) | $70 | $0 | $70 | FL | 74,246 | |
| Blue Medicare Rx Standard (PDP) | $320 | $145 | $175 | 121% | NC | 12,454 |
| MedicareBlue Rx Standard (PDP) | $320 | $160 | $160 | 100% | IA MN MT NE ND SD WY |
254,642 |
| Alliance Medicare RX (PDP) | $125 | $75 | $50 | 67% | MI | 1,106 |
| Blue MedicareRx Value Plus (PDP) | $320 | $225 | $95 | 42% | CT MA RI VT | 73,725 |
On the other side, members of the 2014 SilverScript Basic plan will notice that they now have a $0 deductible for 2015 as their plan becomes the SilverScript Choice plan – this should please approximately 2.9 million members across the country.