Public Employee Press

Union drug plan as good as Medicare Advantage

Compare Medicare drug plans with union benefit

Medicare-eligible members and retirees can switch to a Medicare health plan from Oct. 15 to Dec. 7. But the DC 37 Health & Security Plan urges them to compare the union's prescription drug benefit with the coverage offered by any Medicare Advantage plan they are considering.

Recently, the H&S Plan informed Medicare-eligible members and retirees the union plan provides drug coverage as good as any Medicare Advantage plan. During Medicare enrollment periods, the federal government requires union plans to notify members that they offer such "creditable coverage."

Subscribers who enroll in a Medicare plan must use its drug plan. If they reach the annual limit, the DC 37 plan picks up their coverage.

Members and retirees who drop or lose their DC 37 coverage must join a Medicare plan within 63 days to avoid a higher premium.

"We advise people considering a switch to take a close look at how that will affect their drug coverage," said Health & Security Plan Administrator Cynthia Chin-Marshall. "You might want to sit tight if your Medicare benefit isn't as good as ours."

Cap on drug benefit to remain at $100,000

The federal Dept. of Health and Human Services has granted a waiver to the DC 37 Health and Security Plan that lets the plan keep its $100,000 annual cap on prescription drug coverage until July 30, 2014.

Under the Affordable Care Act, the cap ranges from $750,000 to $2 million. But, as it implements the national health care law, the federal government lets plans with lower caps obtain a waiver to avoid significant changes in coverage.

Without the waiver, the plan would have had to raise its coverage cap in July and cover fewer drugs, raise co-pays and possibly cut other benefits.