Medicare changes: What you need to know this year
Posted Oct. 22, 2012, at 8:49 a.m.
The fine print and the jargon and the tiny language changes — it’s all stuff that makes choosing the right Medicare plan maddening. But a beefed-up federal five-star rating system for Medicare Advantage and prescription drug plans may make the choice a whole lot easier this year.
The new enrollment period opened last Monday for beneficiaries of Medicare Advantage and prescription drug plans. The annual eight-week window allows newly minted seniors — baby boomers who turned 65 this past year — to sign up for policies and for current beneficiaries to reassess their current policies.
There are some general changes worth noting:
Beginning this year, beneficiaries of chronically poor-performing plans will be notified by mail that there might be better options elsewhere and those beneficiaries may switch to the highest-performing plans throughout 2013.
Medicare for the first time will cover screenings for depression, obesity, sexually transmitted diseases and alcohol misuse. It also will cover behavioral therapy for cardiovascular disease.
Under health care reform, Medicare discounts continue to deepen on drugs in the donut hole. This coverage gap is a period of time when seniors must pay a higher cost for prescription drugs — once the full-cost — until they spend enough to qualify for catastrophic coverage. When beneficiaries reach that gap in 2013, they will pay 47.5 percent of the cost for brand name drugs and 79 percent for generic drugs next year.
Knowing the intricacies of your plan may seem daunting, but it’s crucial, senior advocates said.
http://bangordailynews.com/2012/10/22/health/medicare-changes-what-you-need-to-know-this-year/print/
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