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Medicare Part D now offering ‘open enrollment’ until Dec. 31 While the overwhelming majority of senior citizens are happy with their prescription drug coverage under Medicare Part D, some have realized that the plan they picked was not what they wanted or needed. But seniors who fall into this category have good news. From now until December 31, Medicare Part D will offer an “openenrollment” period, meaning that recipients can change their prescription drug coverage to pick a new plan that better meets their needs. Unhappy seniors should jump at this opportunity to switch. Many will discover that insurance providers listened to their complaints and are now offering even better plans than before. For example, several plans now cover the much talked about “doughnut hole,” meaning that out-of-pocket costs have dropped significantly. Many others have lowered the co-pay for drugs. Finally, more plans have added many new medicines that were approved by the FDA as recently as last month. All told, seniors will have more opportunity to lower their out of pocket drug costs and tailor their drug plans to their medical needs. So even seniors who are pleased with their drug coverage should examine their options. Whether they want to sign up for the first time or change plans, seniors shouldn’t delay. This open-enrollment period happens only once per year, from November 15 through December 31. This enrollment period makes Part D different from traditional one-size-fits-all government health plans, where there are no options. Every drug given “priority” status by the FDA since 1995 is available under Medicare Part D. Rather than offing seniors a single price-controlled government plan, the Medicare drug benefit takes the opposite approach. It leverages market forces to create competition, which leads to lower prices, better service and more choices. In fact, both Medicare and the Congressional Budget Office found that private competition offers the same savings as a government-run system with more choice and less bureaucracy. Under Part D, private companies compete for the business of seniors. That’s why three out of four seniors enrolled in the Medicare drug program are satisfied, and nearly threefourths expect their drug costs to stay the same or decrease thanks to the plan. More than four in five seniors say they’ve had no problems getting their drugs. And because of the program, 20 million seniors who had no previous drug coverage are now insured. In the coming weeks, seniors should take advantage of the open enrollment period and sign up, or switch to a new plan that better meets their needs. And they should pay attention to any effort Congress makes to take those choices away. Choice is what the new Medicare program — and better health — is all about.
Robert Goldberg is vice president of The Center for Medicine in the Public Interest.
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