Today is October 13th, 2011. As noted last Thursday, which was October 6th of 2011, “open enrollment” for Medicare Part D and Advantage Plans starts two days from today (October 15th – I don’t know why such a life-changing experience would start on a Saturday, other than the possible conjecture that the “Ides of October” seems…symbolic); anyway, here we go, and I’m not going to repeat everything we covered on October 6th, 2011, as a nod to the resilience of our short-term memories.
This column is going to be all about the intricacies of this process. If Part D is not part of your life and you couldn’t care less, bail out now and go shopping for Halloween candy, and remember who loves you…
OK, October 15th through December 7th! The short version is that there are 30 Part D plans to choose from. It appears that no Advantage Plans are leaving Clallam County, nor are any new ones coming in, while Jefferson County has a couple of new Advantage Plan choices to consider; clearly, there is no practical way to make a quasi-intelligent decision about these without using Medicare’s “Plan Finder,” which you can find at www.medicare.gov/find-a-plan or just go to www.medicare.gov and it will be obvious. You could also call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) 24/7 for help (TTY = 1-877-486-2048) OR (if all else fails) you could actually read the “Medicare & You 2012 Handbook,” which likely showed up last month.
And there is free, local, face-to-face help available – Stay tuned.
All the Plans are now in the “Plan Finder,” so you could go into it, enter your drugs and what-not and get some extra time to think, but remember that you can’t actually enroll/change Plans until Saturday,
If you have a Part D plan now that you’re just as happy-as-a-happy-clam with, and you’re totally confident that you’ll be clam-happy with it again next year (without even looking at premiums or formularies or whatever), then feel free to do absolutely nothing, and your current plan will continue, unabated and unperturbed, into 2012. Whatever you do (or don’t do) will kick-in on January 1, 2012 – Happy New Year!
Last week I referenced the “donut hole” (i.e. “coverage gap”), in which the Part D plan pays nothing and we pay everything, assuming that you have a plan that has a “donut hole” – That’s true; however, if you hit the donut hole in 2012 you will at least get a 50% discount on all brand-name drugs covered by the Plan (which will still count toward getting you OUT of the donut hole) and/or a 14& discount on generics covered by the Plan (I know, but at least it’s something).
Let’s talk about money. You may have heard “extra help” or “L.I.S.,” both of which refer to the Part D “Low Income Subsidy,” for which many of us qualify and don’t know it. If you’re single and your income is at or below $1,362 per month ($16,335 per year) AND your assets are less than $12,640, you qualify. “Assets” means, for most of us, money in the bank (plus stocks, bonds, contracts, etc) – It does NOT mean your house, your car or your stuff. For a couple, your income has to be at or below $1,839 per month and your assets below $25, 260; FYI, these numbers will probably increase in April of next year.
If you do qualify, you’ll be able to enroll in one of the 9 “benchmark” Part D plans with little or no monthly premium, drastically reduced deductibles and NO “donut hole!” If this sounds even vaguely like you to you, you can apply by calling Social Security at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY = 1-800-325-0778) or going online to www.socialsecurity.gov/prescriptionhelp and you want to do this RIGHT NOW! Will you have a wait on the phone? Probably, so take the opportunity to cruise through your checkbook while you’re waiting to remember why you’re waiting.
Now, I told you that there was free, local, face-to-face help available – There is. These folks know what they’re doing and will not try to sell you anything because they don’t have anything to sell – I know this to be true because they’re “us” – I also know them to be good and decent people. Here we go:
- 3rd Tuesday, Port Townsend Community Center, Lawrence & Tyler, 3:00-5:00 pm;
- 2nd and 4th Tuesdays, Tri-Area Community Center, 10 W. Valley Road in Chimacum, 9:00 am to 12:00 pm;
- Every Wednesday and Friday, Port Angeles Senior Center, 328 E. 7th in P.A., 9:00 am to 12:00 pm;
- Mondays, at the Sequim Senior Activity Center, 921 E. Hammond, 3:00-5:00 pm and Tuesdays, same place, 9:00 am to 12:00 pm;
- 4th Wednesday, Quilcene Community Center, 294952 Highway 101, 10:00 am to 1:00 pm;
- In Forks, at our “Information & Assistance” office (481 5th Avenue), the 1st Wednesday, 9:00 to 11:00 am, or call 374-9496 for other appointments.
If you have any questions about any of that, call 452-3221 (1-800-801-0070).
Bring your Medicare card or Medicare number, any/all insurance cards/prescription drug cards/benefit booklets, any letters you’ve gotten from your insurance company on the subject, an estimate of your monthly/annual income and assets, a list of your medications, dosages and what you’re paying for them now and anything else that you think might be a good idea or that you have questions about.
These are first come, first served affairs, so remember to be as cheerful and patient as possible, because everybody else is doing the same thing that you’re doing and are equally thrilled at the prospect.
Last one today: Remember that part above about “extra help?” Well, if you’d like to see if you’re eligible and (if you are) actually apply online AS WELL AS finding out if you might be eligible for any number of other programs, go to www.benefitscheckup.org and work through it. It goes surprisingly quickly, is very straightforward and you might be amazed by what you discover.
I’d hoped to get into Medicare Savings Programs today, but I suspect that this is MORE than enough for now, so let’s call it “good;” remember, you have until December 7th to pull this off; personally, I’m shooting for having it done before November 24th, putting the “Thank you!” back into Thanksgiving!
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