Falling into the "doughnut hole"

Some patients are discovering that their Medicare Part D drug coverage has a gap, and stops paying when a limit is reached. For some who qualify, coverage resumes later. The gap in coverage is called the "doughnut hole." Timely advice from OnThePharm:

"Yesterday I had my first customer come talk to me about his medicare coverage. He spends quite a bit of money in the pharmacy, but he had opted for a plan which had the “doughnut hole.” Now. the details of each plan’s doughnut hole vary, but basically they all revolve around the magic $2250 number. There are some common misconception about this so-called doughnut hole, and he had fallen victim to both!

"...As always, I recommend checking out the Medicare website, particularly their plan search tool. Be sure to be specific, and enter your medications, and dosages so the plan can really help you choose the plan that’s best for you. At the end, it will present you with a list of plans ordered by yearly cost that cover the medications taken. The yearly cost is what it will cost you or a loved one in terms of premiums, copayments, and lack of coverage if a donut hole is ever reached. While you can’t change which company you go with now, you will be able to after November 15 when open enrollment begins again."