Posts Tagged ‘donut hole’

What is Medicare Part D?

This is a drug prescription plan. It went into effect on January 1, 2006  with the passage of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act. But it has been amended, as we'll see in a bit. In essence, Part D moves some costs of prescription drugs to patients through what is called the "donut hole" or coverage gap. In order to receive Part D, a person with Medicare must enroll in a stand-alone Prescription Drug Plan or the Medicare Advantage plan with prescription drug coverage. These plans are regulated by Medicare, but are designed and run by private health…

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The donut hole is and has been a big problem for Seniors but help is on the way!

The Medicare Part D donut hole affects many millions of seniors. Seniors with annual drug expenses exceeding $2,830 had to pay all of their drug costs up to $4,550, at which point catastrophic coverage went into effect. Unfortunately, some seniors in the donut hole did not take or cut up their medications. Consequently, this made their condition worse.  Basically, if seniors don’t be sparing or withhold their prescribed drugs, their long-term health improves dramatically. However, the new healthcare law completely phases out the donut hole. Last year, the government sent $250 rebate checks to Medicare recipients in the gap. This…

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