medicare100309
On the homepage
Vita.mn
Out There
Vikings
Artcetera
Home | Lifestyle | Health + Wellness
Medicare drug changes: Paying more for less
The number of Medicare Advantage plans will drop from 48 to 29, while average premiums will rise about $19 a month.
Print this story
E-mail this story
Save to del.icio.us
Share on Facebook
Share on DiggRelated Content
More from Health + Wellness
The first look at what 510,000 Minnesota Medicare beneficiaries will pay for drug coverage next year shows that costs will rise and coverage may shrink, new government figures indicate.
The biggest changes in Medicare Part D will come with Medicare Advantage plans, which combine drug and medical coverage for about 222,000 Minnesotans. The number of plans will drop from 48 to 29, and average premiums will rise about $19 a month, to $87.24.
"We're concerned about the increase in premiums and the impact that may have on beneficiaries -- especially in a year when there will be no [cost-of-living] increase in Social Security payments," said Jean Wood, executive director of the Minnesota Board on Aging.
The board's Minnesota LinkAge Line (1-800-333-2433) already has begun to get calls from beneficiaries about the 2010 plans, she said. On Thursday, insurers were allowed to begin marketing the Medicare-approved private plans, though they cannot be sold until Nov. 15.
Beneficiaries will not be able to figure out how their actual out-of-pocket costs will change for 2010 until later this month, when a computer tool on the Medicare.gov website will allow such calculations.
The tool will allow beneficiaries to compare their current monthly and annual costs with all other plans to find the one offering the lowest cost and broadest coverage.
During open enrollment Nov. 15 through December, any beneficiary may renew or switch plans. Each plan offers a different mix of premiums, copays, deductibles and actual drug costs.
"People should really look hard at that," said Wood. "There will be a lot of changes in costs and coverage."
More modest changes are in store for drugs-only plans, another type of coverage held by about 288,000 Minnesotans. The number of those plans will drop to 44 from 48 this year. The average premiums will rise $1.36 a month to $49.59.
There also will be several "special-needs plans" for Minnesotans with such conditions as dementia or chronic lung disease, but that information was not immediately available. Last year there were 19 such plans.
Of the 79 Medicare Advantage and drugs-only plans, 22 offer some coverage of drug costs in the "doughnut hole," a gap in coverage allowed by Congress to keep overall costs down.
With most plans, a beneficiary pays about 25 percent of drug costs until the total paid by the beneficiary and insurance reaches $2,830 in drug and premium costs (the beneficiary's share plus a $310 annual deductible is about $940). Then the person pays all costs -- the $3,610 doughnut hole -- until total insurance and beneficiary costs reach $6,440. At that point, the individual pays 5 percent of costs.
"We're getting far more calls than last year from beneficiaries who have hit the gap," Wood said. She said counselors are steering people to the Minnesota RxConnect program, which includes links to cheaper Canadian brand-name drugs, or programs by drug companies offering low-cost drugs to low-income people.
The LinkAge Line is the primary source of information about Medicare as well as other programs for older or disabled Minnesotans.
About 753,000 older or disabled Minnesotans are eligible. In addition to the 510,000 who have Part D plans, about 70,000 are covered by former employers and 90,000 are covered by military or government retirement programs. About 83,000 have no drug coverage.
Warren Wolfe • 612-673-7253
Recent Health + Wellness stories
1 million Maclaren strollers recalled due to risk of fingertip amputation - October 2, 2009
1 million Maclaren strollers recalled due to risk of fingertip amputation - About a million Maclaren strollers sold by Target and Babies "R" Us were recalled Monday, after 12 reports of children having their fingertips amputated by a hinge mechanism. More
|
|
Win tickets to the Dec. 3 performance of "In The Heights" at Orpheum Theatre.Vita.mn presents the Dec. 3 performance of "In The Heights" at Orpheum Theatre, and is hosting the official cast after party at First Avenue's Ritmo Caliente. |
Comment on this story | Read all 22 comments | Hide reader comments