Average number of 2014 stand-alone Medicare Part D plans
Saint Augustine, FL (PRWEB) September 20, 2013
Q1Medicare.com now offers seniors and other Medicare beneficiaries a preview of their 2014 stand-alone Medicare Part D prescription drug plan options. Based on the 2014 Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Medicare Part D landscape data, Q1Medicare.com has released their national and state-by-state interactive 2014 Medicare Part D prescription drug plan summaries. The 2014 stand-alone Medicare Part D plan data analysis can be found directly at PDP-Facts.com/2014 and includes a text summary version of the data analysis for each state.
According to the 2014 CMS Medicare Part D plan data, the average national monthly Medicare prescription drug plan premium remains almost unchanged from last year at $53.35, just over the 2013 national monthly premium average of around $53.26. However, based on current Medicare Part D plan enrollment, about 73% of all Medicare Part D beneficiaries will see a monthly premium increase of around $6 if these beneficiaries stay with their current 2013 prescription drug plan instead of enrolling in another, more affordable 2014 Medicare Part D plan or Medicare Advantage plan that offers prescription coverage.
The good news is that more 2014 Medicare Part D plans will be offered with premiums under $25. In fact, the lowest-costing nationally available 2014 Medicare Part D plans will be offered by Humana at around $12.60 per month in most states. Whereas in 2013, the lowest-costing plan was offered by AARP/UnitedHealthcare for $15.00 per month.
If people are looking for another Medicare Part D plan, they may notice that there slightly fewer stand-alone 2014 Medicare Part D prescription drug plans offered in their area, with an average of 29 Medicare Part D plans being offered in each state - as compared to an average of 31 plans being offered in 2013.
As in past years, residents of Pennsylvania and West Virginia will have the largest selection of stand-alone prescription drug plans with 34 different 2014 Medicare Part D plans available, a slight decrease from the 38 Medicare Part D plans offered in 2013. Alternatively, Medicare beneficiaries in Hawaii will have a more limited choice of only 24 prescription drug plans, up one plan from the 23 plans that were available in 2013. A complete listing of all the 2013 Medicare Part D plans offered in each state can be found at PDP-Finder.com/2014.
Medicare Part D plan designs will also change in 2014 and Medicare beneficiaries might notice fewer plans offering some type of Donut Hole or gap coverage and the monthly premium for plans offering Donut Hole coverage will increase in 2014.
But, even without enrolling in a Medicare plan with Donut Hole coverage, seniors will still be able to save some money if they enter the 2014 Coverage Gap portion of their Medicare Part D plan by receiving a 52.5% Donut Hole discount on brand-name drugs and a 28% discount on generic drugs.
In 2014, seniors and other Medicare beneficiaries qualifying for the full Low-Income Subsidy (LIS) or Extra Help program will still find most states offering a number of prescription drug plans qualifying for the $0 monthly LIS premium. However, several states will have significantly fewer Medicare Part D plans that qualify for the state’s LIS $0 premium. For instance, South Carolina will offer 7 LIS-qualifying 2014 Medicare Part D plans as compared to the 14 LIS-qualifying plans currently offered in 2013.
“Our PDP-Facts pages are designed to be interactive so that users can click on the links and view more plan information directly within our PDP-Finder and PDP-Compare tools,” notes Dr. Susan Johnson, Technical Director of the Q1Medicare.com site and co-founder of Q1Group LLC. “We will continue updating all of our 2014 tools as more coverage information becomes available.”
Like other Q1Medicare.com 2014 online features, the PDP-Facts, PDP-Finder, and PDP-Compare tools are available to all site visitors at no cost and designed for computer, smartphone, and tablet platforms.
Q1Medicare.com reminds seniors and other Medicare beneficiaries that they can enroll in a 2014 Medicare Part D prescription drug plan or Medicare Advantage plan during the annual Open Enrollment Period starting Tuesday, October 15 and continuing through Saturday, December 7.
About the Q1Medicare.com Website
Q1Medicare.com is one of the largest independent online resources for Medicare Part D prescription drug plan and Medicare Advantage plan information. Q1Medicare offers a large selection of Frequently Asked Questions, online tools, and a free Medicare Part D Newsletter all designed to help Medicare beneficiaries, healthcare professionals, advocates, advisers, caregivers, and insurance agents better understand both the Medicare Part D prescription drug and Medicare Advantage programs. Q1Medicare.com is operated by Q1Group LLC (Saint Augustine, Florida).