Skyrocketing premiums looming for many with Medicare Part D

By Mary Garrigan, Journal staff | Friday, November 14, 2008

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LaVonne Sartorius's premium for prescription drug coverage is going to double in cost in 2009, so the 75-year-old Rapid City woman plans to take advantage of the open enrollment period for Medicare Part D that begins Saturday to look for a new policy.

"My premiums were $24.60 per month in 2008, and they're going up to $48 next year," Sartorius said. "I've been satisfied with my Humana policy, but a jump of $24 is $24, and it mounts up."

The South Dakota State Medical Association urges all people with Medicare to do as Sartorius has done and review the 2009 premiums, co-pays and deductibles associated with their current prescription drug plan.

Part D plans change their premiums, and what they cover, annually. People with Medicare should review those changes and compare it to others to make sure they find the best plan for them, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid said. The open enrollment period runs Nov. 15 through Dec. 31. During that period, current recipients can switch policies, and new Medicare enrollees are able to join plans for the first time.

Shopping around between the 48 different Medicare prescription drug plans that are available in South Dakota for 2009 makes sense, and at Canyon Lake Senior Center in Rapid City, the Senior Health Information and Insurance Education program, commonly referred to as SHIINE, make it easy to do that, Sartorius said.

"The SHIINE volunteer here will get on the computer for me and compare a list of the medications I take with all the different plans," she said. A SHIINE volunteer also is available to answer questions by calling 800-536-8197.

Medicare recipients can do the same thing themselves using the Part D plan finder and calculate the best plan for their needs. That's available online at www.medicare.gov. Help also is available at 800-MEDICARE (800-633-4227).

Like Sartorius, a lot of seniors are seeing premium increases. Among the top 10 drug plans in terms of enrollment nationwide, the average monthly premium will increase anywhere between 8 percent and 63.7 percent, according to an analysis from Avalere Health, a management consulting firm. At the same time, those plans are reducing the number of medicines that they'll cover by about 9 percent.

"A number of factors are pushing plan pricing up," Dan Mendelson, president of Avalere, said. "Seniors are using more branded and generic drugs. Drug prices went up a little bit, as well. But perhaps most important, a number of plans -- notably Humana -- concluded that they underpriced and are making up for lost time."

The Associated Press contributed to this story.