Online Enrollment Medicare Prescription Drug Plans New Jersey

Aging brings with it an increasing need for healthcare services, especially in outpatient settings. This refers to getting treatment at a doctor’s office, clinic, or hospital facility, and then going home without being admitted to the hospital. These services are increasingly in demand as the elderly population is growing in number in the United States. The emergence of chronic diseases among the elderly combined with an increasing elderly population explains why there may be an increasing preponderance of people looking for outpatient healthcare services and prescription medications.

How common are prescription medications?

Data for the CDC indicates that about 48 percent of adults in the United States have used at least one prescription drug in the last 30 days. Not only so, but the data also suggest that about 24 percent have used three or more within the same period and about 12 percent have used five or more prescription drugs within just over 4 weeks. It is also the case that the retail cost of prescription drugs has ballooned significantly since 1960.

What healthcare reforms mean for Americans

Before the idea of the Affordable Care Act was implemented, about 20% of individual healthcare insurance plans in the United States did not provide coverage for prescription medications. Thus, once the Affordable Care Act was instituted, it set a standard of the ten essential benefits that should characterize all individual or small group healthcare plans which included coverage for prescription drugs.

Medicare & Medicaid

Medicare differs from private health insurance in that the Original Medicare (Parts A and B) does not cover prescription medications. Part D was established in 2003 specifically to cover prescriptions. Medicare prescription drug plans in Florida and all states are regulated by Medicare and each state but offered by private insurance carriers. If you are eligible for Medicare (age 65 and above or younger for those who meet the disability qualifications), you definitely have some options to explore for your prescription coverage from available plans offered in your zip code region.

You can get a standalone Part D Medicare Prescription Drug plan. There is also a Medicare Advantage plan that includes a Part D coverage plan.

Medicaid, on the other hand, is a joint Federal-State program. It is means tested and responsible for paying medical assistance for families and individuals, particularly those with few assets or a low income. Medicaid covers prescription drugs in every state, and the recipient either pays nothing or a small copay. But if you are a dual beneficiary of Medicare and Medicaid, your drug prescription plans will be covered by Part D of Medicare.

You need prescription drug coverage

Studies already show that out-of-pocket payment of healthcare services, including drug prescriptions, is among the leading causes of bankruptcy in the United States. The more your need for prescription drugs increases, the higher the cost of out-of-pocket payments for drugs. Medicare provides a relatively cheaper option for prescriptions with its Medicare prescription drug plans in Florida.

Conclusion

If you live in Florida, you can enroll in Medicare Part D prescription drug plans for Florida once you meet the criteria for enrollment. There are plans and additional advantages that you can use when you are ill and want to receive either in-patient or outpatient healthcare services. While each plan has a relatively similar formulary listing which drugs the plan covers, the plan premium, deductibles, and copays it charges for each drug can differ significantly.  It is worthwhile to examine alternative Part D plans for these costs for your specific prescriptions before enrolling in any plan.