Medicare Blog: Moorestown, Cranford NJ

SILVERSCRIPT CHOICE Part d plan - annual notice of Change (ANOC) - NJ

9/18/2019

As you may have read from our prior Blog posts and videos, the government has released a new Medicare Plan Finder tool for 2020 and will be shutting down the existing Medicare Plan Finder tool, which limits our ability to review Part D Drug Plans for 2020.

So, we wanted to send out a couple of examples of ANOCs (Annual Notice of Changes) for two of the more popular Part D Plans in NJ.

This ANOC above is for SilverScript Choice and the ANOC explains what is changing in 2020.

Monthly Premium: reducing $0.30 from $35.20 to $34.90
Deductible (tier 3-5): increasing $305 from $0 to $305
Tier 1 copay at Preferred Pharmacy: reduced $3 from $3 to $0

Tier 1 copay at Standard Pharmacy: reducing $2 from $7 to $5
Tier 2 copay at Preferred Pharmacy: reducing $13 from $14 to $1
Tier 2 copay at Standard Pharmacy: reducing $14 from $20 to $6

Tier 3 copay at Preferred Pharmacy: increasing $4 from $43 to $47
Tier 4 cost sharing at Preferred Pharmacy: reducing from 47% to 38%
Tier 4 cost sharing at Standard Pharmacy: reducing from 50% to 38%
Tier 5 cost sharing at Preferred Pharmacy: reducing from 33% to 27%
Tier 5 cost sharing at Standard Pharmacy: reducing from 33% to 27%

Bottom line, SilverScript Choice used to be the lowest premium plan with a $0 deductible. This year they introduced a deductible of $305 for higher tiered medications, but they did lower the cost sharing for basically every Tier of medication for 2020.

The 2020 Formulary has not been published yet but we recommend checking to make sure your drugs remain on the formulary for 2020.

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wellcare value script part d plan 2020 Annual notice of change

9/18/2019

4 Comments

As you may have read from our prior Blog posts and videos, the government has released a new Medicare Plan Finder tool for 2020 and will be shutting down the existing Medicare Plan Finder tool, which limits our ability to review Part D Drug Plans for 2020.

So, we wanted to send out a couple of examples of ANOCs (Annual Notice of Changes) for two of the more popular Part D Plans in NJ.

This ANOC above is for WellCare Value Script and the ANOC explains what is changing in 2020.

Monthly Premium: increasing $3.80 from $11.90 to $15.70
Deductible (tier 3-5): increasing $20 from $415 to $435
Tier 1 copay at Preferred Pharmacy: remains at $0

Tier 1 copay at Standard Pharmacy: increasing $2 from $3 to $5
Tier 2 copay at Preferred Pharmacy: increasing $1 from $5 to $6
Tier 2 copay at Standard Pharmacy: increasing $3 from $8 to $11

Tier 3 copay at Preferred Pharmacy: increasing from $41 to $43
Tier 4 cost sharing at Preferred Pharmacy: increasing from 48% to 49%

Bottom line, if you have low cost Tier 1 generic medications this is probably still the best Plan for you in 2020. The 2020 Formulary has not been published yet so we can't confirm for sure, but hopefully this will become available in the next few weeks.

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Boston globe article with help from Justin

9/11/2019

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In the beginning of October, we will have an opportunity to review your Prescription Drug Plan for 2020. There are about 30 different Part D Plans to choose from, Medicare Part D coverage changes every year, and the Prescription plans change every year.

This year, we have some new challenges.

The Boston Globe released an article yesterday (with our help), which outlined some of these challenges.

Also, over the last few weeks, we have sent out a few communications related to new Medicare Plan Finder tool.

There are some significant gaps with the new Medicare Plan Finder. Most notably,
(1) the Total Estimated Cost Calculation (Premium + Drug Costs) is not available,and
(2) there is no ability to save the drug list information using the anonymous flow.

For issue #1, CMS has indicated this functionality will be added to the Medicare Plan Finder Tool by Annual Enrollment. This is absolutely critical for Senior Advisors to be able to determine the most cost effective Part D Plan. We don't want to hold up the Rx information forms any longer waiting for this fix, so we are sending out the Reminder emails so you can start to complete your Rx information. Please note, If CMS does not fix this issue by October, we will not be able to complete the Part D Plan Comparisons for 2020.

For issue #2, in order to review and save Drug Lists and comparisons, we are going to need to create/use your myMedicare.gov account credentials (username/password). On our Rx Information Form, you will see additional fields and a question to authorize Senior Advisors to create your myMedicare.gov account or use your existing account if you already created one.

If you would like us to complete the FREE Part D Analysis, you can complete our Rx information form.

Please be sure to select Plan Year "2020" for Annual Enrollment.

Here is a link to a short video that explains the new Rx information form.
If your drug list hasn't changed, we still need you to complete the online form so we can ensure we have the correct drug information for the Part D Analysis.

If you are not taking any medications, please quickly fill out the online form and answer "No" the question "Do you currently take any medications?"

The deadline to submit your form to us is November 15, but please do not wait until the last minute if you are able to submit sooner.

We have extended our processing time expectations this year due to the issues with the New Medicare Plan Finder tool and the unknown issues we expect to encounter with a brand new tool.

Our target turn-around times are below.

RX Forms submitted before October 8 - since the Part D drug plans for 2019 are not released until the first week of October, we will not be able to review your 2019 Part D Analysis until October. So, if you submit your RX information form prior to October 8, you should still receive an automatic email acknowledgement and then you will receive a Part D recommendation from us by October 31.
RX Forms submitted between October 8 and November 15- If you submit your RX information form between October 8 and November 15, you should receive a response / recommendation from us within 14-21 business days.

Do not submit your RX Forms after November 15 - we will not be able to guarantee that we will be able to review the Part D analysis and make a recommendation in time to make the December 7 deadline.

We look forward to enrolling you in the right 2020 Part D Plan for your specific situation.

Thank you for your continued business. We appreciate the opportunity to serve you.

CLICK HERE TO GET YOUR FREE PART D ANALYSIS

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2020 Part D Changes

9/10/2019

4 Comments

Medicare Part D Changes Annually

Each year, Medicare changes the benefits provided under Medicare Part D. These changes could impact your annual costs for your Prescription Drug Coverage. Specifically in 2020 here are some key changes for Medicare Part D.

Initial Deductible: will be increased by $20 from $415 in 2019 to $435 in 2020. What does this mean for you? The initial deductible is the ‘first dollar’ spent on your prescriptions. Certain plans will have a $435 deductible, which means that the individual will have to pay their first $435 in drug costs before the benefits start, but this usually only applies to higher tiered medications. Other plans may offer a $0 deductible, which means that the benefits start immediately.
Initial Coverage Limit: will increase $200 from $3,820 in 2019 to $4,020 in 2020. What does this mean for you? The initial coverage limit protects individuals from the dreaded “Donut Hole” (aka Coverage Gap), which results in higher out-of-pocket costs. After the total retail drug cost exceeds the initial coverage limit, the individual will fall into the Donut hole. By increasing the initial coverage limit by $200, this is a minor improvement which lowers the probability of reaching (or delays the timing to reach) the donut hole , which is a good thing.
True Out-of-Pocket (TrOOP) Threshold: will increase from $5,100 in 2019 to $6,350 in 2020. What does this mean for you? In most cases, this won’t have an impact. Less than 5% of people actually reach this threshold. Catastrophic coverage benefits start when someone exceeds the Out-of-Pocket threshold. In Catastrophic coverage, individuals will pay a much lower fee for their drugs – either 5% of the drug cost or a specific co-pay amount, whichever is greater.

Generic Copay in Catastrophic Coverage– increasing from $3.40 in 2019 to $3.60 in 2020
Brand Name Copay in Catastrophic Coverage – increasing from $8.50 in 2019 to $8.95 in 2020

By increasing the Out-Pocket threshold by $1,250, this could have a significant impact (several hundred dollars) on those individuals that previously reached the Catastrophic Coverage level.

All of these Medicare Part D changes in 2020 will have an impact on selecting the right Part D Prescription Plan for 2020.

Prescription Plan Part D Changes Annually
In addition to the Medicare Part D changes, the insurance companies change their Prescription drug plans each year. These changes could impact the formulary (which drugs are covered), deductibles, premiums, etc.

It is imperative to select the right plan EACH YEAR to avoid the type of mistakes which could result in thousands of dollars of unnecessary costs!

There are about 25 Medicare Part D Prescription plan options in each state, and we strongly recommend using the tools on medicare.gov and/or contacting a trusted insurance broker to assist in this process.

A FREE Service offered to our clients…
We feel very strongly about ensuring our clients have the correct Part D Prescription Drug Card and thus, we provide the option for all of our clients to have their Prescription Drug coverage reviewed annually.

Click Here to Find out more about our FREE RX Analysis program.

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SILVERSCRIPT CHOICE Part d plan - annual notice of Change (ANOC) - NJ

wellcare value script part d plan 2020 Annual notice of change

Boston globe article with help from Justin

2020 Part D Changes

Justin Lubenow

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