MEDICARE Q & amp;A Consider signing up for new plan

KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
Q. I am on Medicare and have a Medicare supplement that pays for some of my prescription drugs. I am happy with the coverage that I have. Do I need to enroll in a Medicare prescription drug plan next year? --Claire
A. You are not required to make a change, but there are good reasons to consider signing up for a Medicare prescription drug plan. You should soon be receiving a letter from your Medigap insurer that describes your options for 2006. The letter will most likely tell you that the drug coverage you now have is less generous than the standard Medicare drug benefit. If that's the case, you may want to make a change.
Keeping your Medigap drug coverage might seem like the easiest option, but this decision may not be in your best interest. Assuming your Medigap drug coverage is not as generous as the standard Medicare drug benefit, and you don't sign up for a Medicare plan in 2006, you will face a late enrollment penalty if you decide to sign up for Medicare drug coverage in the future. The penalty would increase the cost of your drug coverage permanently.
Rather than keep what you have, you could switch to a Medigap policy without prescription drug coverage and enroll in a Medicare drug plan. If you make this switch, you would probably reduce your Medigap premium since policies without drug coverage are typically cheaper. Of course, you would also pay a premium for your new Medicare drug plan, which is expected to average $32 a month, though could cost less or more depending on which plan you pick.
Another option would be to switch from traditional Medicare to a Medicare HMO or PPO, which would cover all Medicare benefits, including prescription drugs. With this option, you could save money by dropping Medigap altogether but could face restrictions on the doctors, specialists and hospitals you can use under the plan.
The enrollment period for Medicare drug plans runs from Nov. 15, 2005, through May 15, 2006, so you are wise to start sorting through your options.
XThis column was prepared by the Kaiser Family Foundation, an independent, non-profit private foundation based in Menlo Park, Calif., not affiliated with the Kaiser Permanente health plan. Send questions about the new Medicare drug benefit to Medicare Q & amp; A, The Kaiser Family Foundation, 1330 G St., NW, Washington, DC 20005 or MedicareQ@kff.org.