Managed Care Matters

Listening to all the noise about the upcoming Part D enrollment deadline you'd think if you don't sign up now you'll never be able to. Nothing could be further from the truth.

For seniors who enroll in Part D after the "deadline", their premiums will be increased by 1% for each month post-deadline. So, if the premium is $25.00 now, it will be $28.00 in a year. Now, I know many seniors live on fixed incomes, but the extra three bucks is not likely to break most individuals.

Especially when one considers the decision process seniors are going thru. They look at their drug bills today, see if they can save money by enrolling in Part D, and if they can, they do, and if they can't, they don't. And when they can save money by enrolling, they will.

Plan sellers could change their premiums between now and when a senior decides its finally worth it to enroll, but they can do that anyway.

So the deadline is not a "line in the sand", but it sure makes for good press. It's too bad that the mass media is not doing a better job of educating seniors about the soft deadline, instead choosing to create a false crisis.