How to Sign Up for Medicare D

Part D is the prescription drug benefit offered by Medicare. Medicare is the United States' health care system for the elderly and disabled. Part D is provided by private insurance companies who are paid subsidies by the federal government to adminster the benefit.

Instructions

• 1

  Make an inventory of the drugs you take, the dosage and frequency with which you take them, and your preferred pharmacies. This information is vital when comparing plans and is always wise to have handy if you need to ask questions about coverage.

• 2

  Find out if you are in an enrollment period. You cannot sign up for a Part D plan any time of the year. If you are new to Medicare, then you may still be in your Initial Enrollment Period, If your initial enrollment period has passed, you can only sign up for a Part D plan during the annual coordinated election period, which lasts November 15 to December 31 each year, with coverage effective January 1 of the following year.

• 3

  Use Medicare.gov's online plan finder tool to find available Part D plans in your area to compare costs. Logon to Medicare.gov's homepage, and click the blue icon on the left labeled "Health & Drug Plans" and then "Find & Compare Drug Plans."

• 4

  Click "Find & Compare Plans" to begin the search. The Personalized Search will require you to supply your Medicare number. If you do not feel comfortable doing so, use the General Search. Enter all the information that the web page asks you for, and continue. Using the list of drugs that you made in Step 1, enter your drugs using the "Get Drug Costs for Available Plans" option. This will give you a more accurate idea of what a plan will cost you, and it will weed out plans that just won't work for you. Once you finish, you will be taken to a page with a list of plans in your area. You will have the option to compare plans side by side with just the click of a button.

• 5

  Call each company that provides a plan you're interested in. Once you're finished with your search online, you should have about 3 or 4 plans that are in your price range and cover the drugs you need. Calling on the plan is important because this is a chance to confirm all of the information you found on the web and to ask if there are any restrictions that may keep you from accessing your drug easily, such as prior authorization or step therapy. It's also an opportunity to assess the plan's customer service.

• 6

  Enroll. After you pick a plan that you are satisfied with, you can enroll a number of ways. You can call the plan provider directly. The company can enroll you over the phone, or may want to send a paper application for you to mail in. For some plans, you can also enroll on the web using either the plan finder tool (you may have noticed an "Enroll Now" icon in your plan listings) or the insurer may have the option on its website. You can also enroll by calling 1-800-MEDICARE.