Reply #8: Here's a general outline of the new Rx plans

[godai]

I'm trying to figure this out for my inlaws. It's complicated and not everyone will benefit. Seems to work best if an individual has about $2000 in Rx expenses per year (Check #4 for if you go above $2250). I estimate up to $1000 savings but there may be other catches that lower this. Need to be careful that the drugs you need are included in the specific plan you choose. And, who knows what new drugs might be prescribed during the year, and perhaps not included.

This is unnecessarily complex and fits the old story that a camel is a horse designed by a committee.

Here’s an overview of Medicare’s standard benefit design.
1-You pay a monthly Medicare premium for Part D prescription drug plan coverage. (eg $30)

2-You have a $250 plan deductible. This means you pay the first $250 of your plan-approved prescription drugs.

3-Once you’ve met your $250 deductible, the plan then pays 75 percent of the costs, and you pay 25 percent. This continues up to $2,250 – so there’s a $2,000 difference between your deductible and the end of this phase. That means the plan pays $1,500 (75 percent of $2,000) and you pay $500 (25 percent of $2,000).

4-If your prescription drug costs rise above $2,250, you pay 100 percent of your plan-approved prescription drug costs between $2,250 and $5,100. This gap in coverage is often referred to as the “coverage gap” in the Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit.

5-After you’ve spent $3,600 on covered drugs, Medicare and your prescription drug plan pay 95 percent of your plan-approved prescription drug costs. You pay only 5 percent of the cost.