Medicare Part D | Not Taking Medications? | Important Info About Medicare Part D Enrollment

Do you really need Medicare Part D if you're not taking any medications? Not necessarily. BUT, many folks don't realize that there is a Part D penalty that Medicare beneficiaries are subject to for every month that they go without credible Part D coverage. It’s called the Part D late enrollment penalty.
The late enrollment penalty amount typically is 1% of the Part D national base beneficiary premium for each full, uncovered month that the person didn’t have Part D or creditable coverage. Medicare, not the drug company determines the penalty. And Medicare bases this off of the average Part D premium for that year. The national base beneficiary premium for 2019 is $33.19. The monthly penalty is rounded to the nearest $0.10 and added to the monthly Part D premium.

So, let’s say in our example this person has been without credible Part D drug coverage for 30 months. 1% of $33.19 is $.33. $.33 x 30 months = $9.90. This person has now accumulated a $9.90 Part D late enrollment penalty, and a penalty is going to be tacked on to their Part D premium for the rest of the time they have a Part D plan. Let’s say they sign up for a Part D drug plan that is $20/month. The total premium will now be $29.90/month with the late enrollment penalty added on. The Part D penalty can change annually and Medicare determines the premium based off of the national base beneficiary premium for that year.

In general, if you have had a break in credible prescription drug coverage of 63 days or more after the end of your initial enrollment period for Medicare, you will face a Part D penalty.

Even if you are taking no medications you can always simply sign up for the least expensive Part D plan in your area to avoid the penalty. In many areas Part D drug plans begin at $10-$15/month.

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[chadluke]

Don't you just love how the government forces you into buying something you don't need or penalizes you for not doing it? Ya gotta love the government.

[_valles]

Wish I knew this information way before. Helping my grandma with her insurance and seeing the penalty return again this year, called her Insurance and they said as long as she gets Medicare she will pay the penalty, which I thought was insane, hung up, and searched online only to confirm the BARBARIC penalty. Sidenote: people's paycheck has a tax for medicare. They really be digging and getting their hands on money any way possible!!

[johnking]

This Lady "Stephanie" is the BEST ! completely satisfied with medicare "d" she recommended for us !!!!
NO "bs" ! straight shooter, no pressure !

[Kathleen.]

You have addressed my long list of questions that others have not; thank you.

[MrMarkar]

i am so glad i watched this👍🏼 A, B, D and N, , gotta update my choices🙏🏼

[jhserres]

Stephanie is awesome! Clear, concise and direct. No time wasted with unnecessary words etc.

[cylentsmoker]

28 healthy young man here. I don't know how I came across your channel but I'm just gonna go into my backyard garden and throw dirt on me and pretend I'm a carrot

[BrianLuenser]

Just outstanding information. Thank you very much!

[Queenie-the-genie]

Until I found your video I had no I idea. I had a low cost plan in the beginning but it didn’t ever cover anything - usually an antibiotic. ugh! Whstva drag. Why did I never know this. It certainly was never explained to me by anyone.

[joesh]

Very informative video Stephanie!! Thank you

[johnchristian]

Stephanie has saved my wife and I a LOT of money with her expert advice. She provides clear complete explanations on the Medicare programs. Her videos are superb and to the point. We highly recommend her to all.

[blindspott]

In our case (wife & myself) we have paid for Part D for 12 years and each year plans become more expensive, raise deductibles, and reduce the drugs they cover. In several years the insurance companies reduced or changed their formularies after one has signed up and after the ending date of the of the plan enrolment period...we're both duped and stuck.
This year I performed a analysis of costs with and without a Plan D at all...and we will pay considerably less with GoodRx compared to any of the 27 Plan D options available in our home area of Tampa. The most expensive drug I take is Lyrica. In a generic form my copay is $47 for a one month after I satisfy a $505 annual deductible. For the first 4+ months I am initially required to pay $150 for that month's Supply. With GoodRx I pay $32 for a 90 day supply with NO deductible to satisfy. On this basis we dropped our plan D coverage. I had to argue long and hard with Medicare to cancel however.
Since my wife & I take only drugs available in generic form we are able to save at least $2000 this year by cancelling plan our Plan D and using GoodRx exclusively.
I'm quite sure the math changes if one must take an expensive branded drug however don't count on a plan D plan to provide coverage either. One of the most popular branded drug is the blood thinner Eliquis which has no generic form. Not one of the plans available to me covered this drug which retails for over $450 per month and to compound matters neither does GoodRx or one of those discount cards that work only with a "commercially": available insurance plan (non government).
Medicare has a great online comparison tool that allows to to compare your estimated annual drug cost. Just type in you drug, dosage, and monthly usage and it will produce an estimated annual cost for every drug plan available. Then compare your costs to GoodRx and make an informed decision.

[theoamend]

Thank you for making this information so clear and understandable. I've worried about all of this for so long now and you've unraveled it all and I'm so grateful.

[benjamindover]

Love your videos! They are VERY helpful. Thank you!

[kevinguo]

This info answered my potential questions

[AbtInsuranceAgency]

Please comment with your Part D questions below!

[searay]

Say I delay signing up for a part D plan for 2 years. Assuming my plan is the average the national average of $33.19 a month. My penalty would be .33 x 24 = $7.92 a month when I did sign up. So the plan would be costing me an extra $95 a year than it would have it I had signed up right away. However, I would have already saved $796 over the 2 years of not paying the $33.19 premium. $796/$95. So it would take about 8.4 more years from the time I decided not to sign up, for me to get to the break even point out of pocket on part D costs. From then on, I would have to pay an extra $95 a year.

[jannelson]

That "penalty" is ridiculous. When I joined Medicare, I was taking no drugs (still not) but I wasn't aware that Part D was "required". It wasn't made clear enough nine ears ago. So now until the end of time I'm going to be billed 3.60 . I really hate that. I'd like to opt out of Part D and get rid of that fine.

[laurice]

Notice that if you don’t know how to answer these filtering questions, you won’t see the lower cost part D plans first! Going on this Government website is like shopping on a car lot! All the best bargain vehicles are kept in the back of the lot!🤨

[Oldfart]

why do you get penalized for not having party D ... shouldn't it be by choice to have it and not by force?