Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage and Medigap

Medicare prescription drug coverage affects Medigap coverage of prescription drugs. Three Medigap plans covered prescription drugs (Plans H, I, and J). If you have one of these plans, you have several options. You can do one of the following:

• Keep your Medigap policy and not enroll in the Medicare prescription drug benefit.
• Keep your Medigap policy and enroll in the Medicare prescription drug benefit.
• Switch your Medigap policy and enroll in the Medicare prescription drug benefit.

The three Medigap plans offering drug coverage cannot be sold after January 1, 2006, to anyone eligible for Medicare Part D. However, existing Medigap policies may be renewed. But be aware that if you keep your Medigap policy and later decide you want to enroll in Medicare, you may have to pay a premium penalty. You won't have to pay a penalty if your Medigap plan is considered as good as the Medicare prescription drug plan. Medigap issuers should have sent notice to let you know if your Medigap plan is as good as Medicare prescription coverage.

If you decide to enroll in the Medicare prescription drug benefit, you can either choose a different Medigap policy or you can keep your current Medigap policy and drop the drug benefit. If you keep your current policy, your Medigap premium will be adjusted to reflect the elimination of the drug benefit.

If you want to enroll in the Medicare prescription drug plan and switch Medigap plans, you can enroll in Medigap Plans A, B, C, F, K, L, M, or N.