You may not know that under Medicare Part D, you will have a prescription drug coverage gap, often referred to as the "donut hole," during which you won't be able to receive prescription drug coverage. Find out exactly what this gap is, and learn how to bridge the prescription drug coverage gap.

 

What is the Medicare donut hole?

 

Most Medicare Part D plans have a coverage gap, sometimes called the Medicare donut hole. This means that after you and your Medicare drug plan have spent a certain amount of money for covered prescription drugs, you then have to pay all costs out-of-pocket for the drugs, up to a certain limit. The yearly deductible, co-insurance, or co-payments, and what you pay while in the coverage gap, all count toward this out-of-pocket limit. The limit doesn't include the drug plan's premium.

 

There are plans that offer some coverage while you're in the gap, for generic drugs for example. However, plans with gap coverage may charge a higher monthly premium. Check with the plan first to see if your drugs would be covered during the gap.

 

Once you reach the plan's out-of-pocket limit during the coverage gap, "catastrophic coverage" automatically kicks in. Catastrophic coverage means that when you've spent up to the plan's out-of-pocket limit for covered drugs, you will only pay a small co-insurance amount or a co-payment for the rest of the year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Extra Help with the coverage gap

 

People who get Medicare Extra Help to pay drug costs won't have a coverage gap and will pay a small or no co-payment once they reach catastrophic coverage. Extra Help is a special part of Medicare prescription drug coverage that gives more assistance to people with limited incomes than the regular program does.

If you qualify, you can save a lot of money. If you qualify for "full" Extra Help, you receive coverage throughout the year (no coverage gap) and pay very little for your prescriptions. If you qualify for "partial" Extra Help, you receive coverage throughout the year and pay a reduced premium and deductible and up to 15% of the cost of your drugs.

 

Obamacare and the coverage gap

 

Federal health care reform legislation -- the Affordable Care Act, also called Obamacare -- has addressed the problem by steadily reducing the prescription drug coverage gap over several years. By 2020, the prescription drug coverage gap will be closed completely, meaning that the donut hole will cease to exist, and you will only have to pay 25% of the cost of your prescription drugs until you reach your annual out-of-pocket limit.

 

Medicare has neither reviewed nor endorsed this information.

 

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