Are There Alternatives To Fill “Doughnut Hole” Left By New Medicare Plan?
The Medicare doughnut hole is a gap in the new Medicare coverage plan where prescription costs fall into a loop hole of the plan and are then paid for out-of-pocket. Medicare covers 75% of prescription costs up to $2251 after a $225 deductible. After $2251, the program pays nothing until expenses reach $5,100. Once they reach $5,100, Medicare then pays for 95% of the expenses. According to the Congressional Budget Office, more than 55% of all Medicare beneficiaries are projected to have drug spending that falls in the donut hole’s range. As a result from the gap in coverage, people that are more seriously ill and need the prescriptions the most, end up paying a larger share for their prescription cost than those with fewer prescriptions. For example, WebMD says, A senior with $1,000 in annual drug costs would pay $438 out-of-pocket under the plan, while a beneficiary with $5,000 in costs would be responsible for $3,500 of their total costs. An analysis by the Urban Institute shows that
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