When it was first enacted in 1965, the Medicare program only took care of the hospitalization and outpatient care of senior citizens, or people who are 65 years and above. The program took a turn for evolution when it began to offer prescription drugs coverage beginning in 2006 in a program called Medicare Part D, with the “D” standing for “drugs”. 

Many will doubt if the program has actually helped millions (as of last only 660,000 out of the millions who are eligible have enrolled in the program). Very few, however, will doubt that this outfit of the Medicare program has actually helped to spawn a new breed of aggressive salesmen who sell overpriced plans - from different providers - to senior citizens.

On a more positive note, there are many, many Part D plans that you can mix and match with your main Medicare plan, Medicare Advantage Plan with Prescription Drug coverage (MA-PD), or stand-alone Prescription Drug Plan (PDP). If you must know, there are places in the United States that offer as many as 100 Part D plans from half as many providers. These plan providers offer more or less of the same thing, but differ in the coverage amount and in the list of drugs that they cover.

There are, however, some drugs that the Medicare program itself excludes and hence must be excluded by the plan providers: benzodiazepines, cough suppressants, and barbiturates. For people under Medicaid, the program pays for the drugs they need that are not covered by Part D.

Why It’s Not Popular

It can be said that the Part D program is not popular, if you consider the number of actual enrollees against the number of people who are qualified for enrolment under the program.

Most people blame it on its relative complexity, and the sheer number of programs that people have to choose from (not to mention the off-putting, hard-selling salesmen).

Then there is also the problem of changing lists – or lists of drugs that are covered under different plans. The Standard Benefit Plan or the minimum amounts that can be allowed in a plan also undergoes annual changes.

The 2009 Medicare Part D plans have increases in the:

(a) initial deductible,
(b) initial coverage limit,
(c) threshold for out-of-pocket expenses,
(d) minimum cost-sharing in the catastrophic coverage portion of the plan, and
(e)maximum co-payments for below the out-of-pocket threshold spending for certain classes of low-income, fully-subsidized eligible Part D enrollees.

You can begin reviewing the 2009 Part D plans on October 1, 2008, when marketing activities would have started.

Enrolments are only accepted from November 15 to December 31, 2008.

You can immediately enjoy the benefits of your Part D plan at the start of the year 2009. If you want to switch your MA-PD plan to the original Medicare plan with a Prescription Drug Plan (PDP), there is a special enrolment period from January 1 to March 31, 2009, during which time you can make the switch.