2010 Medicare Part D Defined Standard Benefit Parameters Online at Q1Medicare. com
Q1Medicare. com now has the final 2010 Medicare Part D Defined Standard Benefit parameters online highlighting how the Medicare Part D plans have changed over the past several years. The final 2010 Part D Defined Standard Benefit parameters increased slightly from the preliminary figures released by CMS in late-February. Medicare beneficiaries who enroll in a 2010 Medicare Part D prescription drug plan modeled after the CMS Defined Standard Benefit can expect a 4.66% increase in their 2010 Medicare Part D prescription drug plan parameters such as their initial deductible and Donut Hole limits. Q1Medicare. com has also updated their 2010 PDP-Planner to help the Medicare community better understand how these 2010 changes will affect next year's prescription drug spending.
Saint Augustine, FL (Vocus) June 9, 2009
Q1Medicare. com now has the final 2010 Medicare Part D Defined Standard Benefit parameters online along with the Part D plan parameters from the past years. A comparison of the Medicare Part D Defined Standard Benefits from 2006 through 2010 can be viewed at: Q1Medicare. com/2010 (http://www. q1medicare. com/PartD-The-2010-Medicare-Part-D-Outlook. php).
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) publish the Part D Defined Standard Benefit parameters each year and originally released the preliminary 2010 parameters for the Defined Standard Benefit in February showing a projected 3.13% increase over the 2009 Part D plan parameters. In the final version, CMS updated the 2010 Medicare Part D Defined Standard Benefit parameters to represent an increase of 4.66% over the 2009 values. The parameters include such Part D plan variables as the initial deductible, as well as the Initial Coverage Limit and the Out-of-Pocket Threshold, which together form the boundaries of the Donut Hole or Coverage Gap.
"Back in February, we brought the preliminary 2010 parameters online and have now updated our site and tools to reflect the final version as released by CMS," notes Dr. Susan Johnson, Technical Director and co-founder of Q1Group LLC. "Although in practice, most Part D plan designs deviate from the CMS Defined Standard Benefit, the 2010 parameters give us an insight into what we can expect from 2010 prescription drug plans."
Medicare beneficiaries who decide to enroll in a 2010 Part D prescription drug plan modeled after the CMS Defined Standard Benefit will see their 2010 initial annual deductible increase to $310 from the current 2009 value of $295. Medicare beneficiaries will also enter the 2010 Donut Hole a little later when their total retail drug costs reach $2,830, as compared to this year's 2009 Initial Coverage Limit of $2,700. On the downside, 2010 Medicare Part D beneficiaries will exit the Donut Hole when they personally spend over $4,550 out of pocket on prescription drugs. The current 2009 Out-of-Pocket threshold is $4,350.
Q1Medicare. com has also updated their 2010 PDP-Planner tool (http://www. q1medicare. com/PartD-PartDCoverageGapCalculator10Xphp. php) to reflect the final CMS Part D Defined Standard Benefit parameters. PDP-Planner is designed to show prescription drug spending across the year and through the phases of a Part D plan, with the goal of helping the Medicare community estimate how they might better prepare or budget for next year's prescription drug costs.
"We designed our PDP-Planner so that users can enter estimated retail prescription costs based on their current drug spending and have the flexibility to change Medicare Part D plan parameters values, such as the initial deductible, to get an idea of how they will move through the phases of their Part D plan," explained Dr. Johnson. "We also provide a PDP-Planner example (http://www. q1medicare. com/PartD-PartDCoverageGapCalculator10Xphp. php? pgtype=ex1) for people who are just getting started."
PDP-Planner is available on Q1Medicare. com along with other online tools, a section of Frequently Asked Questions (http://www. q1medicare. com/PartD-FAQsYourQuestionAnswerCenterXphp. php), a free monthly Medicare Part D Newsletter (http://www. q1medicare. com/PartD-StayingInformedOn-Medicare-PartD. php) and tutorials all designed to help Medicare beneficiaries, advocates, advisors, and insurance agents navigate the Medicare prescription drug program.
About the Website Q1Medicare. com
Q1Medicare. com is one of the largest private internet resources for Medicare Part D prescription drug plan information and also offers information on other Medicare and health related topics. Q1Medicare. com was formerly Medicare-PartD. com. The Q1Medicare. com website was designed and is operated by Q1Group LLC (Saint Augustine, FL). Site users are encouraged to follow Q1Medicare on Twitter at twitter. com/Q1Medicare.
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