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December 2005
The open enrollment period for Medicare's prescription drug benefit began in mid-November.
In Wisconsin, more than 825,000 seniors can choose from one of more than 40 options available through 17 private insurers. The introduction of outpatient prescription drug coverage marks the biggest change to Medicare (a government health plan for individuals over age 65) since its inception in 1965.
The government is heavily subsidizing the drug benefit, or Medicare Part D, meaning individuals enrolled in a drug plan will pay only a fraction of what the drug coverage actually costs.
What is the Trust doing?
After carefully studying the new law, we determined that the vast majority of our Medicare-eligible retirees would be financially better off with Medicare Part D.
Because the government will heavily subsidize the cost of Medicare Part D, and the Trust does not qualify for the subsidy, we simply can't provide drug coverage at a similar price. Therefore, effective January 1, 2006, the Trust will discontinue prescription drug coverage for retirees who have Medicare as their primary insurance.
What does this mean for Medicare-eligible individuals?If you have Medicare as your primary insurance and a Trust health plan as your secondary coverage, you will continue to have medical coverage with the Trust.
However, since prescription drugs will no longer be a covered benefit, your premium will be reduced by $220 to $300 per month (double that if your spouse is also on Medicare), depending on the type of drug plan you had.
Should I sign up for Medicare Part D?
We urge all Trust health plan members who have Medicare as the primary insurance to sign up for Medicare Part D by December 31, 2005, in order to have drug coverage effective on January 1, 2006.
Those who enroll after January 1, but before May 15, 2006, will not have any drug coverage until the first of the month following the date their enrollment is processed.
Those who delay their enrollment until after May 15, 2006, will not be able to get coverage until January 1, 2007, and will incur a permanent premium penalty of 1% for every month of delay.
What plan is right for me?
There is not one Medicare Part D plan that is the best for all Medicare-eligible retirees. However, we have evaluated many plans, and provide guidance at weatrust.com/medicared. If you sign up with any Medicare Part D provider and are not happy with their coverage, you will be able to change providers once a year.
Posted December 1, 2005