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Volume 12 Number 196 News: Part D Drug Benefit Detailed information about 2008 Medicare Part D drug plans will be available Oct. 11 to beneficiaries via the online Prescription Drug Plan Finder, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said Oct. 10. The plan finder tool, as in the past, allows beneficiaries to learn about Part D plan specifics, such as premium and deductible amounts, and for 2008, beneficiaries will be able to compare plan features, CMS acting Administrator Kerry N. Weems said. Open enrollment for the 2008 Part D benefit year begins Nov. 15 and lasts through Dec. 31. The plan finder is available at CMS's consumer Web site, http://www.medicare.gov. Beneficiaries also can look at plans' formularies and pharmacy networks and calculate their estimated out-of-pocket costs for the coming benefit year, according to a CMS news release. "We want to encourage everyone to use our enhanced tools now and throughout the upcoming open enrollment period to review their current drug plan coverage and compare their options for 2008," Weems said in the news release. Beneficiaries also can access plan finder data by calling 1-800-MEDICARE, Weems added. In addition, CMS will publish plan quality data on its Web site beginning in November, Weem said, so that beneficiaries can compare performance data as well as cost and benefit information when making 2008 selections. The plan finder includes data about stand-alone drug plans, as well as Medicare Advantage plans that offer drug coverage. MA plans that do not offer Part D coverage are not included on the site. Weems said that beneficiaries also will begin receiving the 2008 Medicare & You handbook, which contains information about all Medicare benefits. Current Part D enrollees also will begin receiving in October annual notices of change from their plans that will provide details about any changes in their plan for 2008.
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