Baby Boomers U. S. (The Blog) |
| Mining for Cost Savings in a Maze of Medicare Plans Posted: 28 Aug 2011 04:02 AM PDT This is a Guest Post by Ross Blair of PlanPrescriber. If you would like to Guest Post for Baby Boomers US, check out our Guest Post for Us page.
If Medicare provides your health coverage or you're a Baby Boomer who plans to enroll in Medicare when you turn 65, the recent debate over the nation's debt limit and the upcoming deliberations of the Congressionally appointed twelve person deficit reduction committee should have your close attention. The tenets of various plans and proposals are hotly debated, but the likely outcomes are not; the growth rate at which America spends money on Medicare will likely be reduced. And, if the government is going to reduce expenses, you'll probably have to do more to maximize your own Medicare coverage. The good news is that the average Medicare beneficiary can do many things to maximize their benefits including;
Enrolling in a Medicare prescription drug plan Medicare recipients can enroll in a stand-alone drug plan or a Medicare Advantage plan that has the drug benefit bundled into it. In most parts of the country there are Medicare Advantage plans with a prescription drug benefit that cost nothing each month for the enrollee, beyond what they already pay for Medicare Part B. And, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently announced that the average premium for a 2012 drug plan will be around $30 per month; slightly cheaper than 2011 This is good news for people managing their budgets. Taking the drugs as prescribed by your physician Two different studies confirm that patients who take their medication are healthier and save the health care system money. The first study, published in 2009 by the New England Healthcare Institute (NEHI), found that patients who don't take their prescribed medications cost the U.S.A. $290 billion a year. And the second, published in the July 2011 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association found that non-drug-related health care costs have been reduced for older patients who gained better prescription drug coverage under the Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit. Optimizing your prescription drug coverage each year Costs are critical for many people receiving Medicare. Half of all single people on Medicare had incomes under $21,660 in 2010. To them, any and all ideas for how to save on health care costs without harming the quality of their care are welcome. One proven strategy is to optimize your prescription drug coverage each year during the Medicare Annual Enrollment Period. But, according to a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation study last year, only about 10 percent of people on Medicare changed their plan despite the potential for savings. In August, my company published a report that looked at 25,000 user sessions from PlanPrescriber.com during the 2011 Medicare Annual Enrollment period (between November 15, 2010 and December 31, 2010), where customers entered their zip code, the name of their existing Medicare prescription drug plan or Medicare Advantage prescription drug plan, and the names, dosages and frequency of any prescription drugs they were taking, if any. The prescription drug plan comparison tool compares a user's existing plan to other plans available in their area and found that, on average, a user could save over $500 per year – over $40 per month – by reviewing their options and changing their prescription drug plan. It may seem counter-intuitive to change a plan each year, but there are a lot of Medicare drug plans and they may change their prescription drug benefits, costs and listing of covered drugs each year. For example, they may move more expensive drugs off of their plans or charge more for them from one year to the next, which is why some participants may see their drug costs rise dramatically each January. Getting ahead These changes in plans and benefits are precisely why Medicare offers an Annual Enrollment Period; the time of year when anyone on Medicare has the option to review and switch their prescription drug or Medicare Advantage plan. In 2011, the Annual Enrollment Period starts on October 15 and ends on December 7 –new dates you should write down if you're on Medicare. This time should be used to review new plans, understand what may be changing in an existing plan and maybe save a little money by making a change. Most of us never buy our own health insurance until we turn 65. Then, at 65 we've suddenly got the option to buy supplemental Medicare health insurance on our own and face a multitude of options where plans can change every year, potentially affecting what we pay out-of-pocket. There is free, no obligation help available to you at places like PlanPrescriber.com, Medicare.gov and elsewhere. It's advisable to talk to a licensed agent who can help you pick a plan. But, these free, no obligation internet tools can help you see all the options you have available so you've got some information before you get on the phone with an agent. The internet gives you more insight into your health care choices, which means we all win. About the Author: Ross Blair is President and CEO of Plan Prescriber, Inc., a leading provider of comparison tools and educational materials for Medicare-related insurance products. You may also want to join the Baby Boomers US Forum for conversations by Baby Boomers about topics important to Baby Boomers!          
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