Supporting Information

Medicare prescription drug coverage is available to everyone with Medicare.

• Medicare prescription drug coverage helps you pay for your prescription drugs.
• Medicare prescription drug coverage will cover generic and brand-name drugs.
• There is extra help for those who need it most.

• Medicare prescription drug plans provide insurance coverage for prescription drugs.
• Like other insurance, if you join you will pay a monthly premium that varies by plan and pay a share of the cost of your prescriptions.
• Costs and coverage will vary depending on the drug plan you choose.

• Joining is your choice. However, if you don’t join when you are first eligible, you may have to pay a penalty if you choose to join later.
• Like other insurance, you will have to pay this penalty as long as you have Medicare prescription drug coverage.

Click on the statement below that applies to you to learn more.

• You have health insurance through a current or former employer or union
• You are in a Medicare Advantage Plan or other Medicare Health Plan (like an HMO, PPO, or PFFS plan)
• You have Medigap (Medicare Supplement Insurance)
• You have Medicaid
• You have Supplemental Security Income benefits or get help from your state Medicaid program paying your Medicare premiums
• Your state pharmacy program pays for your prescriptions
• You get prescription drug coverage from TRICARE
• You get prescription drug coverage from the Department of Veterans Affairs
• You are in a nursing home or long-term care facility
• You get housing assistance from HUD
• You get Food Stamps
• You get prescription drug coverage from FEHBP

• It will almost always be to your advantage to keep your current coverage without any changes. However, if you have limited income and resources, you may qualify for extra help from Medicare.
• Call the Department of Defense at 1-800-538-9552 for information on military retiree benefits.
• If you have TRICARE for Life (for military retirees), contact your benefits administrator for more information about your TRICARE for Life coverage before making any changes.
• Go to www.TRICARE.osd.mil on the web for more information on TRICARE for Life.
• If you lose your TRICARE coverage and join a Medicare drug plan, in most cases, you won’t have to pay a penalty, as long as you join within 63 days of losing your coverage.

• It will almost always be to your advantage to keep your current coverage without any changes. However, if you have limited income and resources, you may qualify for extra help from Medicare.
• Before making any changes to your coverage, contact your benefits administrator for more information about your VA coverage.
• Call the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs at 1-800-827-1000 for information on Veteran's benefits and services in your area.
• If you lose your VA coverage and join a Medicare drug plan, in most cases, you won’t have to pay a penalty, as long as you join within 63 days of losing your coverage.

• Your drug costs are covered by Medicare. You will need to join a Medicare drug plan for Medicare to pay for your drugs. In most cases, you will pay a small amount out of your own pocket.
• If you don’t join a plan, Medicare will enroll you in one to make sure you don’t miss a day of coverage. If you decide you want another plan, you can switch to another plan at any time.

• If you have full coverage from Medicaid and live in a nursing home, you pay nothing out of your own pocket for covered prescription drugs.
• If you have full coverage from Medicaid and live in an Assisted Living or Adult Living Facility, or a Residential Home, you will pay a small copayment for each drug.
• Long Term Care pharmacies contract with Medicare drug plans to provide prescription drug coverage to their residents. If you are entering, living in, or leaving a nursing home, you will have the opportunity to choose or change your Medicare drug plan. This allows you to choose or change to a plan that contracts with the nursing home's pharmacy and meets your prescription drug needs.

If you have Medicare and get housing assistance from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), you may want to join a Medicare drug plan.

If you qualify for the extra help with paying for your drug plan's monthly premium and for the cost of your prescriptions, you won’t lose your housing assistance. However, your housing assistance may be reduced as your prescription drug spending decreases. But please keep in mind that any decrease in your housing assistance will be more than made up for by the value of the extra help paying Medicare prescription drug plan costs.

If you have Medicare and get food stamps, you may want to join a Medicare drug plan.

If you do join a plan, you may qualify for extra help paying Medicare prescription drug costs. If you qualify for extra help, your food stamps benefits may decline, but that decline will be more than offset by Medicare's extra help.

If you qualify, compare how much your costs are with your current drug coverage to what your costs would be with Medicare prescription drug coverage and the extra help.

If you are near the food stamps eligibility cutoff, you may lose your minimum food stamp benefits because you will be paying less for your prescription drugs. But please keep in mind that any decrease in food stamp benefits will be more than made up for by the value of the extra help with paying for your prescription drug costs.

Medicare will help employers or unions continue to provide retiree drug coverage that meets Medicare’s standards. You should get communications from your employer or union (or the plan that administers your coverage) about how your drug coverage compares to Medicare prescription drug coverage, and how they are intended to work together.

Read all materials from your employer or union carefully to be sure you make a good prescription drug coverage decision. They will help you understand your options and make your decision much easier.

If you have questions, visit their website, or contact the office listed in their materials. If you aren’t sure whom to contact, contact your benefits administrator or the office that answers questions about your coverage.

Each state decides how its State Pharmacy Assistance Program works with Medicare prescription drug coverage. Some states give extra coverage when you join a Medicare prescription drug plan. Some states have a separate state program that helps with prescriptions. Contact your State Pharmacy Assistance Program to get more information.

You are usually required to get your drug coverage from your current health plan if you decide to stay in the plan. Contact your current health plan if you have any questions about your coverage.

If you have a Medigap policy with prescription drug coverage, you may want to look at your coverage and see what prescription drugs aren’t covered or what part of the costs you pay yourself. Most prescription drug coverage offered by Medigap policies, on average, is not at least as good as Medicare prescription coverage. You will generally save money and get better coverage with the new Medicare prescription drug coverage.

You need to join a Medicare drug plan for Medicare to pay for your drugs. You automatically qualify for extra help for your prescription drug costs. If you don’t join a plan, Medicare will enroll you in one to make sure you don’t miss a day of coverage.

It will almost always be to your advantage to keep your current coverage without any changes. However, if you have limited income and resources, you may qualify for extra help from Medicare. If you decide to make changes to your current coverage, you should first contact your benefits administrator. You can contact them by calling 1-888-767-6738. If you lose your FEHBP coverage and join a Medicare drug plan, in most cases, you won’t have to pay a penalty, as long as you join within 63 days of losing your FEHBP coverage.