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Can you search for a Medicare Part D plan by county and not just state?

Category: Selecting Your Medicare Plan
Published: Mar, 10 2013 04:03:48


Question:  I am looking for an AARP Medicare Part D plan that is available in Smith County, Texas.  Is it possible to search for a Medicare Part D plan just by county?

No.  Stand-alone Medicare Part D prescription drug plans are only organized on a state-wide basis and not by county.  But the good news is that a stand-alone Medicare Part D plan (or PDP) that is offered in one county within a state, is by definition, offered in all counties across that state.
 
For instance, if you found that a stand-alone 2013 AARP Medicare Part D prescription drug plan (PDP) is offered in any county of Texas, then the same plan will also be offered in all counties of Texas, including Smith County.
 
flag_Texas.gifAs reference, here is a link to our 2013 PDP-Finder for the state of Texas, again all 32 stand-alone Medicare Part D prescription drug plans are available in every county of Texas: https://q1medicare.com/PartD-SearchPDPMedicare-2013PlanFinder.php?state=TX.

You will notice that the AARP MedicareRx Saver Plus plan is included in that state-wide 2013 Medicare Part D plan list for Texas.
 
Here is a link directly to the details of this 2013 AARP prescription drug plan:
Please note, some less-populated states are actually collected together into larger regional basis (also known as CMS Medicare Part D Regions) and so Medicare Part D plans area actually offered across the whole region and not just state-wide.  For instance, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming are all included in CMS Region 25 and all of these seven states (and every county within these states) include the same stand-alone Medicare Part D plans.
 
Here is a link to the chart showing how states and US territories are organized into the 37 CMS or Medicare Part D regions: https://q1medicare.com/PartD-Medicare-PartD-Overview-byRegion.php.

You will notice in the regional chart that Texas is organized alone into CMS Region 22 because of the state's larger population.

The links in this chart will show more detail only for the stand-alone Medicare Part D plans that are available on a national basis, but you can see all stand-alone Medicare Part D plans for a given state at PDP-Finder.com.
 
Alternatively, if you are interested in enrolling in a Medicare Advantage plan that includes prescription drug coverage, then you will find that these plans are organized on a county-by-county basis.

(As a reminder, a Medicare Advantage plan administers your Medicare Part A (hospitalization) and Medicare Part B (out-patient or doctor visits) and may include Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage.  You can click here to read more about Medicare Advantage plans:
In your example, you can begin by getting an overview of the Medicare Advantage plans in all the counties of Texas here:  https://q1medicare.com/2013/MedicareAdvantage-2013CHealthPlanMAPDHMOPPOTexasTX.php.
 
You can then click on the specific link for all Medicare Advantage plans in Smith County, Texas and you will find the following page:
 
The results page for this link shows basic details for the 44 Medicare Advantage plans (with and without prescription drug coverage) that are available in Smith County.
 
In this list of 44 plans in Smith County, you will noticed that there are no Medicare Advantage plans offered from AARP.  You can click on the "details" icon below any of the plan names to learn more about the coverage offered by the specific Medicare Advantage plan. 
 
You can also search Medicare Advantage plans using our MA-Finder by just entering your Zip Code to begin.  If your Zip Code includes two counties, you will be asked to select your county of residence.  Here is our link to the MA-Finder:  https://q1medicare.com/PartD-SearchMA-Medicare-2013PlanFinder.php.
 
In summary: You cannot search stand-alone Medicare Part D prescription drug plans by county, as these plans are offered on a state-wide (or regional) basis.  Alternatively, you can only search for Medicare Advantage plans by county or Zip Code.







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