Come every fall Medicare’s Open Enrollment kicks off for about 51 business days. This is the only time where you, the Medicare beneficiary, can shop for new health coverage and it strongly recommended that you do, especially if you have a stand-alone Part D Plan (drug coverage).
Since the inception of Medicare’s Part D which provides coverage for medications plans that have remained available the next year have increased in total costs (premium + deductible) by just under 7% annually.
For the majority of people who enroll into a Medicare Part D drug plan the chance of their costs increasing is close to 80%.
The reality is that within each individual state only about 2 to 3 Part D Plans actually decrease in costs from year to year. The remaining Part D Plans will either increase in costs (premium + deductible) or cease to exist.
Even worse: there has never been a year in the history of Part D Plans where the costs dropped in the for all plans that still existed in the next year.
Here is a breakdown on average for the nation on how existing Part D Plans inflated:
| Year | Increase in Cost | Year | Increase in Cost |
| 2007 – 2008 | 12.08% | 2015 – 2016 | 12.70% |
| 2008 – 2009 | 13.87% | 2016 – 2017 | 7.14% |
| 2009 – 2010 | 9.95% | 2017 – 2018 | 4.78% |
| 2010 – 2011 | 10.04% | 2018 – 2019 | 0.62% |
| 2011 – 2012 | 3.99% | 2019 – 2020 | 5.79% |
| 2012 – 2013 | 6.30% | 2020 – 2021 | 2.52% |
| 2013 – 2014 | 3.79% | 2021 – 2022 | 9.93% |
| 2014 – 2015 | 1.01% |
If you are already have a Medicare Part D Plan the odds that your plan will increase in costs are high and come Open Enrollment you should go shopping. The Part D plans are not out for 2023, but from the looks of other health plans costs will be increasing yet again.
Please note: THE #1 reason as to why you or anyone would choose a specific Part D Plan is to ensure that your medications are covered by that Part D Plan. The next factor is finding a plan that provides the lowest out-of-pocket cost for your medications . Finally, the 3rd factor is the cost of the plan in terms of premiums and deductible.
Again, the steps when choosing any Medicare Part D drug plan are:
- Find a Part D Plan that covers your medications.
- Choose a Part D Plan that provides your medications at the lowest out-of-pocket cost.
- Finally select the plan with the lowest premium and deductible for the year.
For more information on which Part D Plan is best for you please contact us 617-894-8043 or you can always go to Medicare’s Plan Finder too.
