Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit

Medicare now offers a prescription drug benefit. This new coverage began on January 1, 2006. The annual sign-up period for eligible people for Medicare’s prescription drug benefits begins on the 15^th of November and runs through to the last day of the year.  Under the benefit, seniors taking drugs can select an insurance plan to cover their prescriptions. You can sort through the options and figure out which plans cover the medications you take at http://www.medicare.gov/ or at 800-633-4227.

When you visit the Medicare website, have your pill bottles and Medicare card ready. You’ll enter the information into the website, and then a number of plans will be listed from which you may choose one.

Key questions to consider when looking at the alternative plans are

• Does the plan cover all or most of the drugs you take?
• Does it cover the drugstore you use?
• How much are the premiums, co-payments, co-insurance and deductible?
• Will you have to pay the full cost of your prescriptions at any point after the deductible?
• How will the plan work with any current coverage, and could you risk losing that coverage if you don’t join the plan?

For more information

Medicare (to evaluate plans and sign up): 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227), www.medicare.gov. The line is staffed 24-hours a day. If you did not receive the booklet "Medicare & You 2006" or would like one mailed to you for free, call the 800 number.

Wyoming State Health Insurance Information Program (WSHIIP) (for one-on-one counseling): 1-800-856-4398, www.wyomingseniors.com/wshiip.htm.

Medicare Part D and You by Cole Ehmke, UW CES

Wyoming Department of Health: Prescription Drug Assistance Program wdh.state.wy.us/pharmacy/PDAP.asp

UW School of Pharmacy:

Wyoming Drug Utilization Review: http://uwacadweb.uwyo.edu/DUR/

Preferred Drug List: http://uwacadweb.uwyo.edu/PDL/

Wyoming Department of Insurance, 1-800-438-5768 http://insurance.state.wy.us/consumer.html (quick facts on Part D)

Wyoming AARP: http://www.aarp.org/states/wy/  (a variety of fact sheets and articles)

MEDICARE CONSUMER ALERT

CONTACT: CMS Media Affairs (202) 690-6145

Medicare Beneficiaries Urged to be on the Look-out for Phone Scams

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) warns seniors and people with disabilities to be aware of a scheme that asks Medicare beneficiaries for money and checking account information to help them enroll in a Medicare Prescription Drug Plan.

This scheme is called the “$299 Ring” for the typical amount of money Medicare beneficiaries are talked into withdrawing from their checking accounts to pay for a non-existent prescription drug plan. Consumers can report these cases to their local law enforcement agencies or 1-877-7SAFERX (1-877-772-3379).

Medicare has received complaints from Indiana, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts New Jersey and Georgia. Complaints have been made against a number of different companies, but authorities believe that the companies are the same and are typically based outside the US. As soon as CMS receives these complaints, they are investigated and referred to federal law enforcement authorities.

No Medicare drug plan can ask a person with Medicare for bank account or other personal information over the telephone. No beneficiary should ever provide that kind of information to a caller. They should contact their local police department if they believe someone is trying to take money or information from them illegally.

People with Medicare should also remember that they should be on the lookout for anyone trying to take advantage of them and take steps to protect themselves by remembering:

• No one can come into your home uninvited.
• No one can ask you for personal information during their marketing activities.
• Always keep all personal information, such as your Medicare number, safe, just as you would a credit card or a bank account number.
• Whenever you have a question or concern about any activity regarding Medicare, call 1-800-MEDICARE.

In addition, legitimate Medicare drug plans will not ask for payment over the telephone or the Internet. They must bill the beneficiary for the monthly premium. Typically, that amount is set up as an automatic withdrawal from the beneficiary’s monthly Social Security check. Beneficiaries may also opt to pay the monthly premiums in other ways such as writing a check or setting up automatic payments from their checking accounts.

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