Medicare drug benefit annual enrollment

The annual Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit enrollment process has opened from November 15 to December 31, with the now yearly ritual of conflicting claims about costs, an allegedly "confusing" number of private plans for senior citizens to choose from and questions about the infamous "Donut hole" coverage gap (Marketletters passim). The Drugsite Trust, a group that operates the popular drugs.com web site, has launched its own Part D plan selector tool, which competes with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' (CMS) own www.medicare.gov service. The Drugs.com guide aims to locate the most cost-effective provider based on location and which medicines are prescribed.

For 2009, the Donut hole will apply for beneficiaries' prescription medicines spending of between $2,700 and $4,350. Beyond that point, "catastrophic coverage" means that the provider is responsible for paying most drug costs, with a co-payment of $6 for branded and $2.40 for generic drugs.