Medicare: Part D Cost
Part D helps you pay for medications and provides prescription drug coverage, but it’s important to understand how costs work - including deductibles, out-of-pocket limits, and new options like the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan that can help make expenses more manageable. Part D is just one piece of the puzzle: Medicare offers plan options that can include Parts A, B, C, D, and/or Medigap.
Created by DeafHealth with the support of the Patient Advocate Foundation and Pfizer, these videos on Medicare in American Sign Language (ASL) will give you the skills to make informed decisions about your coverage, the benefits offered by Medicare, and how to use your insurance confidently. The videos cover different topics including Medicare Parts A, B, C, D, and Medigap Plans.
- American Sign Language Medicare Guide: https://deafhealthaccess.org/updates/health-insurance/
- English Medicare Guide: https://www.patientadvocate.org/wp-content/uploads/MedicareBenefitsGuide_English-1.pdf
- Medicare Resources Sheet: https://www.patientadvocate.org/wp-content/uploads/Medicare-Resources-Section.pdf
Stay Informed in ASL: We’ve got you covered! Sign up with your email at deafhealthaccess.org/sign-up or follow us on social media for new and current health updates.
Transcript and Video Description
[Video Description: The post has a video thumbnail with blue shading overlaid. The top middle has "Medicare: Part D Cost” in white text with light blue background, accompanied by a yellow bubble with “Medicare” in blue. In the video: A nonbinary person with long, curly brown hair tied to their right stands in front of the camera. Behind them is a light brown leather couch and a blue built-in bookshelf wall. They are wearing black pants, a dark navy button-up shirt, and a pair of small gold earrings.
Transcript: How do you pay for medications under Medicare Part D? If you have a deductible, you will pay your deductible first. Then, you will pay for your prescriptions until you reach your annual out-of-pocket limit of $2,000. There is also an optional Medicare Prescription Payment Plan to help spread out your annual out-of-pocket costs up to $2,000. Anyone with Part D coverage can join the Payment Plan at any time. The Medicare Prescription Plan doesn’t reduce your overall Part D prescription costs, but it can make it easier to manage costs by spreading them out through monthly payments, instead of paying them all at once. With this option, your Part D plan will pay the pharmacy, and you’ll receive monthly bills for your portion of the cost for as long as you’re enrolled. However, if you don’t pay the monthly bills, you may be removed from the Payment Plan and owe the entire balance. You won’t lose your Part D coverage and if you want to re-join the Payment Plan in the future, you’ll need to pay off any outstanding balances. When deciding if the Payment Plan is right for you, it helps to consider your annual medication costs and any outside assistance. For example, the Payment Plan can be helpful if you have high prescription costs and reach the $2,000 out-of-pocket limit early in the year. If you already receive charity assistance for medications, this program may not be beneficial. If you’re interested in enrolling in the Prescription Payment Plan, and you already have a Part D or Medicare Advantage plan that covers prescriptions, you can enroll in the Payment Plan during the Open Enrollment period and anytime after that. Contact your Part D provider to submit a request and start the enrollment process. [The screen fades to show a thumbnail of a faded white background of a doctor holding hands with another individual] Deaf. Healthy. DeafHealth. Learn more at www.deafhealthaccess.org. [The screen fades to show a thumbnail of a blue lighthouse] Paf. Patient Advocate Foundation. www.patientadvocate.org.]