NEW MEDICARE PART D Coverage of Insulin

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CMS News Release 05/26/2020 - Lower Out of Pocket Insulin Costs for Medicare’s Seniors  

from the link ~

Today, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that over 1,750 standalone Medicare Part D prescription drug plans and Medicare Advantage plans with prescription drug coverage have applied to offer lower insulin costs through the Part D Senior Savings Model for the 2021 plan year.  Across the nation, participating enhanced Part D prescription drug plans will provide Medicare beneficiaries access to a broad set of insulins at a maximum $35 copay for a month’s supply, from the beginning of the year through the Part D coverage gap. 

read all of the link ~

Pay close attention to the details - you have to opt for the SPECIFIC PLANS with this coverage - The Senior Savings Medicare Part D Model - enhanced !

Currently, Part D sponsors may offer prescription drug plans that provide lower cost-sharing in the coverage gap; however, when they do, the Part D sponsor accrues costs that pharmaceutical manufacturers would normally pay.

These costs are then passed on to beneficiaries in the form of higher premiums.

The new insulin model directly addresses this disincentive by doing two things:

1) allowing manufacturers to continue paying their full coverage gap discount for their products, even when a plan offers lower cost-sharing; and

2) requiring participating Part D sponsors’ plans, in part through applying manufacturer rebates, to lowering cost-sharing to no more than $35 for a month’s supply for a broad set of insulins.

CMS is enabling and encouraging Part D plans to offer fixed, predictable copays for beneficiaries rather than leaving seniors paying 25 percent of the drug’s cost in the coverage gap. Both manufacturers and Part D sponsors responded to this market-based solution in force and seniors that use insulin will reap the benefits.

Based on CMS’s estimates, beneficiaries who use insulin and join a plan participating in the model could see average out-of-pocket savings of $446, or 66 percent, for their insulins, funded in part by manufacturers paying an estimated additional $250 million of discounts over the five years of the model.

With a robust voluntary response from Part D sponsors, CMS anticipates beneficiaries will have Part D plan options in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, through either a standalone prescription drug plan (PDP) or a Medicare Advantage plan with prescription drug coverage.

Beneficiaries will be able to enroll during Medicare open enrollment, which is from October 15, 2020 through December 7, 2020, for Part D coverage that begins on January 1, 2021.

“President Trump has forged partnerships with pharmaceutical manufacturers and plans to deliver lower priced insulin to our nation’s seniors,” said CMS Administrator Seema Verma. “This market-based solution, in which insulin manufacturers and Part D sponsors compete to provide lower costs and higher quality for patients, will allow seniors to choose a Part D plan that covers their insulin at an average 66 percent lower out-of-pocket cost throughout the year.”

The Part D Senior Savings Model – which was announced on March 11, 2020 – is a voluntary model that tests the impact on insulin access and care by participating Part D enhanced alternative plans offering lower out-of-pocket costs, at a maximum $35 copay for a month’s supply, for a broad range of insulins.