Slight Increase in 2017 Part D Premiums

If you are currently a Medicare Beneficiary, you should have received your 2017 Medicare & You book from CMS (Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services) this week, or in the coming weeks. In this publication, you will find the 2017 Part D premiums & deductibles for each available plan in your area.

We did some analysis on the NJ Part D premium & Deductible changes for 2017.

As you can see in the table, some plans actually reduced premiums (e.g. Humana Walmart went from $18.40/month to $17.00/month) and others had large increases up to 40% (First Health Part D Premier Plus went from $86/month to $120/month).  For deductibles, some plans increased to the maximum deductible of $400, while others kept their $0 deductible.


5 Plans Not Available in 2017?
There are five plans that are not currently showing up in the 2017 Medicare & You book for NJ:

• Symphonix PrimeSaver RX
• UA-Essential
• UA-Select
• UA-Enhanced
• TransAmerica MediareRx Classic.

It is possible that these plans were just late with filing their pricing with Medicare and we could see these plans available in the coming weeks.  However, if they chose to leave the Part D market, anyone enrolled in these plans in 2016 should be receiving a letter from the Part D plan indicating they will be cancelled on 12-31-2016 and to enroll in a different Part D plan for 2017.
 

1 New Part D Plan in 2017
AARP has launched a new plan in 2017: UHC-AARP MedicareRx Walgreens for $22.50/month with a $360 deductible.  This card will have preferred pricing at Walgreens, but does not require you to go to Walgreens.

 
What if I don't live in NJ?
We did not complete an analysis for all 50 states, but we believe the changes in other states will be directionally similar to NJ.  You can find specific details about your state in your Medicare & You book that CMS should have mailed to you.  Also, we will be able to look at 2017 pricing in other states on Medicare.gov starting in October.


 
What's the best plan for you?
The premiums and deductibles are just two of the inputs in the total cost equation. The 2017 Part D plans will be available in the next couple of weeks on the Medicare.gov Part D analysis tool which will allow us to determine which is the best Part D plan for each individual based on total overall cost for the year, which includes copays/coinsurance for your drugs in each of the key phases: deductible, Initial coverage, Coverage Gap, and Catastrophic Coverage.


 
If you would like a FREE part D analysis, you can enter your Prescription info here and we will let you know the plan we would recommend for 2017.

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