Calculate your Medicare Part D ‘doughnut hole’

Monday, June 29, 2009

AARP says that more than one million older Americans will be forced into the Part D “doughnut hole”—a coverage gap in Medicare’s prescription drug program that leaves individuals on the hook for all of their own drug costs while still paying premiums. To help older Americans avoid this dreaded coverage gap, AARP has launched its Doughnut Hole Calculator.

The calculator guides you through your prescription drug options using localized information about your plans and prescriptions to determine if or when you will fall into the gap.

In fewer than 15 minutes, you can view a graph of your out-of-pocket spending by month, look up lower cost drugs, and print out personalized letters to your doctors or other health care providers to help you start a conversation about safely switching prescriptions.

With the Doughnut Hole Calculator, you can:

• See your projected prescription drug costs throughout the year.
• Identify when you might hit the doughnut hole.
• Print out a wallet-size list of all the drugs you take.  You can share this list with providers and family members.
• Create a comparison sheet with up to three therapeutically similar recommended medications that you can print out and discuss with your doctor.
• Use the calculator discreetly without sacrificing your privacy, because your personal details are deleted after you finish working with the calculator and print out your documents.