Take The Time To Evaluate Your Medicare Drug Benefits

Medicare Prescription plans are changing for 2009. Each company offering Part D plans have made changes to their plans for next year. Medicare has approved each change. The question to ask is, "With my existing 2008 plan, am I going to pay more in 2009 than I have to for Medicare Drug coverage?"

I have listed two ways to answer that question. Even if you have been satisfied with your benefits during 2008, take the time to evaluate your plan for 2009. Seniors are not required to change, but may find it financially beneficial to do so.

NOW IS THE TIME TO EVALUATE YOUR PLAN. Open Enrollment will end December 31, 2008.

Many plans have increased monthly premiums, increased certain medicine co-pays, and even changed the drug formulary (list) itself. Use this free tool to evaluate your current plan and see any changes it may have for 2009. If another will be less expensive in premiums or lower your co-pays, you can enroll by phone or online after the analysis.

HERE ARE TWO WAYS TO INDEPENDENTLY ANALYZE THE 2009 PLANS.

1) Call 1-866-955-2022. A knowledgeable and helpful attendent will assist you.

2) Click the web link below to enter your specific medicines and what different plans will cost.

http://plancompare.destinationrx.com/intermediate.aspx?aid=answers

New Marketing Rules for Medicare Plans

Medicare has enacted several new rules regarding marketing techniques during Medicare Open Enrollment. These rules further define the steps insurance agents are allowed to take to market and enroll beneficiaries. Important changes are as follows:

Absolutely No Cold Calling. All contacts with prospects must be pre-approved by the beneficiary. Don't allow anyone initiate contact without a senior asking for it.

Plans and agents can't provide full meals at seminars. Refreshments are permitted, but full meals were being used to "buy" contracts.

Prospect meetings are to be limited to one topic. Discussions of other topics, like annuities, during an Medicare Advantage appointment should not happen until another time at least 48 hours later.


While these rules are very limiting to the sales of Part D and MA plans, agents who are honest and customer-focused will continue to do well. Dishonest agents hopefully will leave the industry. Seniors will be better served.

Increased Growth In After-Hours Clinics

Competition, patient demand are fueling growth in after-hours clinics. Doctors are expanding hours to accommodate the demands of busy, informed patients—and combat competition from retail health clinics popping up in drugstores such as Walgreens and CVS. "Given the choice, most patients who have a regular physician would prefer to see them on extended hours than go elsewhere for treatment," said Doug Henley, CEO of the American Academy of Family Physicians. "It’s moving to a more patient-centric (business) model rather than a physician-centered model," Henley said. Read the full article from the Kansas City Star.

State Specific Report Shows Increasing Health Insurance Costs

Families USA has released a series of state-specific reports showing the rising cost of health insurance premiums compared with median family income. In Alabama, for example, annual premiums for employer-sponsored family coverage rose 79% between 2000 and 20007, while median worker earnings rose 17%. The reports’ findings are based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau and departments of Labor and Health and Human Services.

New Treatments Drive Up Spending On Diabetes

Annual U.S. spending on prescription drugs to treat diabetes rose 87% between 2001 and 2007. A study in the Oct. 27 Archives of Internal Medicine revealed total annual expenditures for diabetes medications rose from $6.7 billion in 2001 to $12.5 billion in 2007, while the average drug price per prescription rose from $56 to $76. Estimated patient visits to office-based physicians for type 2 diabetes grew from 37 million in 2000 to 45 million in 2007.

New Approach to Medical Costs

Americans spend more than $265 billion a year out of pocket on healthcare and pile up medical debt, struggle to pay it off and sometimes end up in financial ruin. Now Haddam, CT-based Criterion Ventures is creating a new approach to dealing with those costs. Criterion's idea is to weave together private and public sources of payment, negotiate discounts on hospital and doctor care, and load it all onto a hybrid debit-credit card. Criterion believes the project will help people avoid drowning in medical debt and could also reduce bill collection hassles for care providers. Read the full article from the Hartford Courant.