Your chosen 2016 Medicare Part D plan no longer qualifies for your state's full-benefit LIS $0 monthly premium in 2017.
For example, the 2016
Florida AARP MedicareRx Saver Plus (PDP) plan qualified for the full-LIS
$0 monthly premium. However, the same AARP Part
D plan no longer qualifies for the $0 premium in 2017. Rather, the monthly premium for people with a
100% LIS benefit is $3.80.
And for more details: You can click here to read more about how to view the full (100% LIS) or partial LIS premiums for any Medicare Part D plan.
See the chart below
for
more 2017 prescription plans that no longer qualify for the $0 monthly premium
in 2017, but did qualify in 2016.
As background: If you are qualified
to receive Medicaid, then you automatically qualify for the
Medicare Part D Extra Help program and the cost of your Medicare Part D premium will be covered up to a certain
level – called your state’s Low-Income Subsidy (LIS) Benchmark Premium.
For example,
if you live in a state with a benchmark premium of $25, the Medicare Part D
Extra Help program will pay for the premium up to this level (or slightly
above) and you will have a $0 premium.
But if you monthly premium
is
over this $25 amount, you will be charged the additional cost over this
benchmark. So, in our example, if you Medicare plan has a $30 monthly
premium, you may be charged the $5 additional cost over your state's
benchmark premium.
2017 LIS Benchmark Premiums: You can
see a list of the 2017 Medicare Part D benchmark premiums for each state in our Blog: “2017
Low-Income Subsidy Benchmark Premium Amounts (includes 2017 - 2006 for
comparison)”:
https://Q1News.com/580.html
The good news is that, if you qualify for the full Medicare Part D Low-Income Subsidy (LIS or Extra Help), each year Medicare
will automatically enroll you in a Medicare Part D plan that qualifies for your
state’s $0 monthly premium.
However, you
have the right to select your own Medicare Part D plan
at any time
during the plan year.
Important: If you
select your own plan, Medicare considers
you a
"Chooser" and
does not automatically change your
enrollment for the next plan year -- even if your selected Medicare Part D plan
no longer qualifies for the state’s full-LIS $0 monthly premium.
The good news is that since you do receive "Extra Help" you can
change your Medicare Part D plan at any time throughout the year to a drug plan that does qualify for the $0 monthly premium (and covers all of your medication needs) and your new coverage will take effect on the first day of the month after your enrollment.