Pearson Health Advisors

Once you are enrolled in Original Medicare and have chosen a supplement you will also want to sign up for a prescription drug plan. It is important that you sign up for a prescription drug plan during your Initial Enrollment Period. That period is 3 months before your 65th birthday, the month of, and three months after. If you fail to sign up for a prescription drug plan when you are first eligible, you will incur a late enrollment penalty later. That penalty is a 1% penalty for every month you could have had Part D but chose not to. For this reason we always recommend that you get a prescription drug plan as soon as you are eligible.

Prescription drug plans have three stages. The first stage is the deductible stage. Some plans will have a deductible that you must pay before your plan kicks in. Once you’ve paid the deductible, you will then enter the initial stage. In this stage, you will pay copays and coinsurance for your drugs until you pay $2000 out of pocket. You will then enter the catastrophic coverage stage. In this stage all of your medications that are on your prescription drug plan will be covered 100% for the rest of the year.

It is important to take a look at your prescription drug plan every year to make sure that the specific plan you are on is still meeting your needs.