Time again to check your Medicare health and drug plans

Now’s the time for Montanans with Medicare to check their health and drug coverage for 2017.

Medicare’s open enrollment period runs from Oct. 15 until Dec. 7.

Open enrollment is the best time to make sure people’s health and drug plans still meet their individual needs, especially if they have had any changes in their health.

By now, insurers should have notified people of any adjustments in their health or drug coverage or any changes in thier out-of-pocket costs for next year.  

The average monthly premium for a Medicare Advantage plan will drop by $1.19 to $31.40, while the average monthly premium for a basic drug plan will inch up $1.50 to $34.

Medicare Advantage remains a strong alternative for people who prefer to receive care through a private insurer rather than through Medicare’s original fee-for-service program.

Enrollment in the private Medicare Advantage plans is expected to grow by 1.2 million to 18.5 million people in 2017 — about 32 percent of Medicare beneficiaries.

Even people who have been satisfied with their health and drug coverage may benefit from reviewing all of their options. Shopping around may save money or improve their coverage.

Montana residents in Medicare’s original fee-for-service program can choose from 22 drug plans with monthly premiums ranging from $17.00 to $101.80.

People might want to look beyond premiums, though. The only way to determine the true cost of drug coverage is to consider other factors like deductibles, co-payments and coinsurance.

Medicare’s website — http://www.medicare.gov — has the best tool for helping people narrow their search for a new health or drug plan. People can click on “Find Health and Drug Plans.”

After entering their ZIP code and the list of their prescriptions, people can use the “Medicare Plan Finder” tool to compare their coverage and out-of-pocket costs under different plans.

The quality of a health or drug plan’s customer service also should be considered. To help people identify the best and worst, the Plan Finder provides star ratings for each plan.

A gold star will show plans with the highest, five-star rating, while a warning icon will alert people to plans that have performed poorly for at least the past three years.

Besides using Medicare.gov, people can call Medicare’s toll-free help line at 1-800-633-4227 or consult “Medicare & You 2017 Handbook,” which people have just received in the mail.

One-on-one benefits counseling is also available through State Health Insurance Assistance Programs. In Montana, the number for assistance is 1-800-551-3191.

Thanks to the health care law, people will have more savings on their prescriptions in 2017 once they land in the coverage gap, known as the “doughnut hole.”

People will receive a 60 percent discount on your brand-name drugs and a 49 percent discount on your generic drugs while in the gap. 

The doughnut hole begins once people and their drug plan have spent $3,700 on medication.

If people are having difficulty affording their medications, they may qualify for extra help with their drug coverage premiums, deductibles and co-payments.

The amount of help depends on income and resources. But, generally, people will pay no more than $3.30 for generic drugs and $8.25 for brand-name drugs.

More than one-quarter of Montana residents with Medicare’s drug coverage now receive such a break.

To learn more about whether they qualify for extra help, people can visit http://www.socialsecurity.gov/prescriptionhelp or call Social Security at 1-800-772-1213.

Any changes made will take effect Jan. 1.