New Jersey Prescription Drug Coverage - (Part D)

A Prescription Drug Plan (PDP) can be taken out as a stand alone plan or as part of a Medicare Advantage plan. A PDP is an option, not a requirement. However, if you do not join a PDP when you become eligible, you'll have to pay a higher premium if you join later. The penalty is 1% of the average monthly premium; approximately thirty cents for each month you delay will be added to your premium if you join later.

Only one effective way should be used to determine which plan best meets your needs in terms of cost and coverage, that is to do a Cost & Coverage Comparison of ALL the PDP plans available in New Jersey and it must be based on all the prescriptions you are currently taking. Making a decision based on premium or deductibles, if any WILL NOT give you an accurate picture of the true cost. Doing a Cost & Coverage Comparison will provide you the true overall cost (the overall cost between plans can vary by thousands of dollars), and indicate if there are quantity limits and if Step Therapy is required on any of your current prescriptions.

The best way to do this is to go to www.medicare.gov and select Prescription Drug plans and follow the prompts, if you have an agent they should be more than happy to do this for you.

Annually you will have an unrestricted opportunity to change plans, November 15th through December 31st. Remember, this is also when the companies submit their changes to Medicare so it is imperative that you compare your plan each year. This is a service we provide to all of our clients at The Philip Vernot Agency .

If you like us to process a Cost & Coverage Comparison for you ,please email or call us with a list of your current prescriptions (be sure to include the full name, dosage and number of times taken a day).