Choosing a Medicare Part D prescription plan

1.  First, choose a type of plan

Medicare recipients who want to enroll in Part D choose between two types of private plans. The choices are:

• a Prescription Drug Plan (PDP), for coverage of prescriptions only.
  
• A Medicare Advantage Plan (MA), for coverage of medical services and prescriptions.  This type of plan is referred to as a Managed Care plan.

2. Second, choose a specific plan

After deciding on a type of plan, recipients choose a specific plan.

To help you select the specific plan that best meets your needs you can:

• Use the Medicare’s Prescription Drug Plan Finder. This tool enables you to compare medication availability and costs for all plans offered in your local area.
  Click here to use Medicare’s Prescription Drug Plan Finder:
  OR
• Speak to a Medicare representative by phone by calling: 1-800-MEDICARE  (1-800-633-4227).

Before signing up for a specific plan:
!   make sure the plan formulary includes the medications you take.
!   find out what your out-of-pocket costs for each medication will be.
!   make sure the plan you choose works at the pharmacies you use most frequently.

The best way to confirm this information is to contact the plan you are interested in directly to find out exactly what the plan will pay for.