Beginning on November 15, people with Medicare can choose a prescription drug plan. There are many ways to choose a plan. You may rely on advice from people you know or trust, or choose a plan you are already familiar with, or use the Landscape of Local Plans located on medicare.gov to find a plan that meets your needs. All of the plan options must meet or exceed Medicare’s standards for coverage, including coverage for medically necessary drugs.

If you want to make more specific plan comparisons based on what matters to you, you can get personalized information from the Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Finder . The Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Finder can be accessed at www.medicare.gov , or through a customer service representative at 1-800-MEDICARE, or through the many organizations working with Medicare to help people take advantage of the new drug coverage.

This is the first week that you can see drug plan data. Some of the features of the Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Finder are not yet available. These features will allow you to further personalize your search for a drug plan that meets your needs. These features will be available well before you can choose to enroll in a plan on November 15. Right now, it is important to get ready to choose a plan by making a note of the drugs you take, the coverage features most important to you, and any specific pharmacies you prefer to use. The Landscape of Local Plans is a good resource for finding out about the plans in your area to get ready to make a choice.

Once the Medicare Prescription Drug Plan finder is fully operational, it will help you to personalize your search for a drug plan, and look at a side-by-side, personalized comparison of up to three plans at a time so you can find one that meets your needs. This list of plans provides a view of important plan information so you can compare plans based on cost, coverage and convenience.

• Cost: The Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Finder will show you a list of drug plans in your area, sorted by the plan with the lowest total cost for the drugs you take now. It can also help you narrow down the choices based on deductibles or premiums.
• Coverage: The Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Finder makes it easy for you to see what kind of coverage each plan offers and it gives you personalized information on plans that might meet your needs for you based on the coverage they offer and their other features.
• Convenience: The Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Finder can identify plans that are accepted by your preferred pharmacy and other nearby pharmacies, and plans that provide mail-order prescriptions.

The Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Finder will also help you if you aren’t sure whether:

• You qualify for extra help paying for a Medicare drug plan,
• Your employer/union is continuing your current coverage with a Medicare subsidy, or
• You are already enrolled in a Medicare Advantage Health Plan or in a Medicare drug plan.

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