Marrowforums is pleased to announce a new site feature for patients and caregivers: The
Medicare Part D Calculator. It is one of our growing collection of
tools for patients and caregivers.
What is Medicare Part D?
In the United States, Medicare Part D is the prescription drug program of Medicare, the government's health care system. Medicare patients can choose from a variety of privately run Medicare-approved plans for prescription drug coverage. People looking for a plan can use the
Medicare Plan Finder.
Determining your expected share of prescription drug costs has always been complicated, and subject to the problem known as the "coverage gap" or "donut hole" where patients pay for 100% of their prescriptions within a certain range of costs. The
Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 changes the rules of the game, adding more complexity but gradually closing the coverage gap.
The
Medicare Part D Calculator lets you estimate your share of prescription costs in the coming years, based on the changes to Part D coverage in the Health Care Act.
Medicare consultants and your own Medicare plan provider can provide you with more specific assistance with the ins and outs of the Medicare system, but we hope that the
Medicare Part D Calculator will help with one piece of the puzzle: taking the mystery out of how you will share prescription drugs costs in the coming years.
Feedback welcome
The
Medicare Part D Calculator is new and we'd like your feedback so we can evaluate and improve it. Please give us your comments by posting in this thread or
contacting us privately. We'd like to know how well the tool works for you, whether you find it useful, and any "glitches" you encounter.
Although the
Medicare Part D Calculator can help you learn more about prescription drug costs, please remember that it is not a guarantee of costs or benefits. Medicare is a vast and complicated system, subject to legislative and administrative changes, and many factors affect the actual costs to patients.