Important Information: Medicare Beneficiaries with Prescription Coverage Through Medical Assistance
by: Pennsylvania Health Law Project
You should have received a letter from the Department of Public Welfare telling you that your prescription coverage through Medical Assistance will end on December 31, 2005. After that date, you will no longer be able to get most prescriptions covered by Medical Assistance* and instead you will need to get your prescriptions covered through a Medicare Prescription Drug Plan.
*Your Medical Assistance ACCESS card will still cover a few medications-specifically benzodiazapines, barbiturates and some over-the-counter drugs.
WHAT YOU NEED TO DO BEFORE JANUARY 1, 2006:
You need to enroll in a Medicare Prescription Drug Plan before December 31, 2005. This will make sure that you have the coverage that is best for you starting on January 1, 2006.
If you do not enroll into a Plan by the end of the year, Medicare will randomly assign you to a Prescription Drug Plan and you will get prescription coverage through that Plan effective January 1, 2006. Medicare will send you a notice telling you about the Plan they will put you in if you do not join a Plan on your own. This notice will be on a yellow sheet of paper.
- The Plan that Medicare puts you in will only cover prescriptions and will not affect your other health care services.
- The Plan Medicare chooses for you may not cover all your drugs or allow you to go to the same pharmacy you go to now.
It is important that you enroll in the Plan that is best for you. As long as you join a Plan before the end of the year, you will have coverage through the Plan you choose. You will be able to change plans at any time.
If you have any questions about this notice, about choosing a Prescription Drug Plan or about how you will get your medications after January 1, 2006, you can call the Pennsylvania Health Law Project Helpline 1-800-274-3258.
Pennsylvania Health Law Project © November, 2005
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