Are you trying to figure out what Medicare Drug Plan is going

to be best for you or someone you know for next year? 

Are you having some trouble connecting to help and

would figure things out on your own if only you had some

direction to use the Medicare Drug Plan search tool? 

We have heard you! 

Spectrum Generations would love to be able to help each and every person who calls us personally - and our dedicated staff makes every attempt to fit everyone in.  Unfortunately, the volume of calls we receive quickly fills our schedules, sometimes making it impossible to get back to people before the deadline. 

To prevent missing the December 7th deadline, Spectrum Generations is providing additional options to guide you through the process of researching drug plans so you can make an informed choice.

• Use the Medicare Plan Finder Tool online at https://www.medicare.gov/find-a-plan
• Call Medicare at 1-800-633-4227 for help 24 hours a day
• Call the Medicare Rights Center at 1-800-333-4114 for help,weekdays 9am to 5pm

Below you will find Step-by-Step directions for the Medicare Plan Finder Tool to help guide you through the process of researching the drug plans.  Click here for a easy to print downloadable Step-by-Step directions. 

Remember, you have until December 7, 2011 to make any changes to your Medicare Drug or Health plan that will become effective on January 1, 2012!

How do I find the online Medicare Plan Finder tool?

Go directly to Medicare’s website at www.medicare.gov.  On the HOME page you will see the heading FINDING PLANS.  Click on the first choice:  COMPARE DRUG AND HEALTH PLANS

How do I use the Medicare Plan Finder?

STEP 1:  There are two ways to do your search:

• Look at your Medicare card to find your Medicare number. Then you can do a Personalized Search. This search considers the coverage you have now.  

• Enter the following information on this page:

• Your zip code
• Your Medicare number
• Your last name (including any suffix such as Jr. or Sr.)
• Your Medicare Part A start date of coverage (see your Medicare card for this information). If you don’t have Part A, click Not Part A? Click here and enter your Part B start date.
• Your date of birth

• Click Find Plans.

          OR…

• If you do not have Medicare yet or do not want to enter your personal information, you can do a General Search. Enter your zip code in the General Search box and click Find Plans. You need to answer two general questions about your current health care coverage. If you’re not sure of the answers, check "I don’t know." When you’re done, click Continue to Plan Results.

Step 2: Enter Your Drugs

Decide if you want to find out how much your drugs would cost on each plan. It’s a good idea to check on drug costs to get an estimate of what you would pay next year.

If no, click I don't take any drugs or I don’t want to add drugs now to get a list of plans in your area and general information about plan costs.

If you do want to get drug costs, enter this information:

• Type the name of each drug you take into the Name of Drug box and click Find My Drug. If there are many similar drug names, it may ask you to pick which one you want from the Search Results. Select the correct drug and click + Add Drug.
• In the pop-up box, check the correct dose and monthly amount of each drug you take and click Add drug and dosage. It will then save the drugs together in My Saved Drug List.

• My Saved Drug List: The Medicare Plan Finder automatically saves your drug list after you enter at least one drug. This way, you can stop if you need to leave the computer and come back later to continue your search. Write down or print your Drug List ID for future reference. You can find your Drug List ID information at the top of the page, on the right-hand side, under My Current Profile. You can also choose a new password date to a date you can more easily remember by clicking (change date). Some people, for example, choose their date of birth.

• When you have typed in all your drugs, click My Drug List is Complete.

Step 3: Select Your Pharmacies

If you want to use a certain pharmacy choose the pharmacy and click Add Pharmacy. If you can use any pharmacy in your area, click I don’t want to add pharmacies now. When you’re done, click Continue to Plan Results.

Step 4: Refine Your Plan Results

The Medicare Plan Finder will tell you how many Medicare Prescription Drug Plans and Health Plans are available in your zip code. You can narrow your search on the left-hand column. Click on the "+" symbol to search, for example, for plans by premium or annual deductible. After you select the filter, click Update Plan Results.

Now, select the type of plans you would like to review within your Summary of Search Results and click Continue to Plan Results.

You now are viewing the "Your Plan Results" page. Scroll down to see the plans available in your area. They are sorted by type and start with plans with the lowest "Estimated Annual Drug Cost."

• You’ll want to consider three things when looking at a plan:

• The monthly premium you’ll pay to the plan,
• Any deductible amount you’ll have to pay before the plan starts covering your drugs,
• and
• The copayment or coinsurance amount the plan charges for your drugs.

• If there is a "no" for any plan in the Drug Coverage Column under All Your Drugs on Formulary, this means the plan does not cover one or more of your drugs. You can click on Lower Your Drug Costs to learn how to pay less.
  
  You may need to talk to your doctor and the plan to get more information before deciding which plan to choose.

You can check up to three plans for a side-by-side comparison, then click Compare Plans. Detailed information will appear, including your estimated monthly premium, deductible, copays or coinsurance for each drug, and so forth. You can also view the plan’s rating, such as how well it handles complaints and allows for exceptions.   AND you can enroll in a plan of your choice from this section also; just click on the Enroll button for that plan and complete the enrollment online.  The other option is to call the plan and do the enrollment over the phone (have your Medicare card in front of you if you do call).