Using medicare.gov To Compare and Enroll in a Prescription Drug Plan
Some Medicare Prescription Drug plans (PDPs) available in your area may not be offered through Via Benefits. If you're unable to find a PDP through Via Benefits that meets your healthcare needs and budget, you can use medicare.gov to compare available PDPs and enroll in a plan.
This article explains how to:
Please note that Via Benefits is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or otherwise related to the federal government, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), or Medicare.
For additional assistance, contact Medicare at 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227). TTY users can call 1-877-486-2048. Representatives are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Preparing To Compare Plans
Before you start comparing plans, have the following information ready:
Your Medicare card
A list of all the prescription drugs you take, including dosages
The names of your preferred pharmacies
Having this information available will help you compare plans accurately and efficiently.
Finding Available Plans
To find the Prescription Drug plans available in your area using medicare.gov, complete the following steps:
1. Go to medicare.gov and select Find health & drug plans.
2. Select Create account, Log in, or enter your ZIP code.
An account isn’t required to compare plans and enroll. Enter your ZIP code and select Continue to get started.
Alternatively, select Create account or Log in and follow the on-screen prompts.
One advantage of creating an account or logging in is that your prescription drugs and preferred pharmacies are saved, so you won’t need to re-enter them when shopping for a plan in the future. Your Medicare plans also appear in your account, making it easier to review and manage your coverage.
3. Select Medicare drug plan (Part D) and Find plans.
4. Indicate whether you receive help with your Medicare health or drug costs and select Continue.
Note: This question is only about the programs listed. It doesn’t include help from a former employer or benefits provider through a reimbursement account, such as an HRA.
5. Select Yes, include drug costs, then select Continue.
6. Add your drugs.
Begin typing to find and select your drug. Then select Add.
Enter the Dosage, Quantity, and Frequency for the drug. Then select Add to my drug list.
Refer to your prescription bottle or package for this information. It’s important to enter the information accurately so your drug costs are estimated correctly when comparing plans.
In this example, the Dosage is a 10mg tablet, the Quantity is 60, and the Frequency is Every month. This indicates that the prescription provides 60 tablets for a 30-day supply, meaning the individual takes two tablets each day and refills the prescription every 30 days.
In this example, the Dosage is a 1% cream, the Package is an 85gm tube, the Quantity is 1, and the Frequency is Every 3 months. This means the prescription provides one tube of cream and is refilled every 90 days.
After you’re done adding drugs to your list, select Continue.
7. Select the pharmacies you’re willing to use from the list and scroll down to select Continue.
Note: If the location displayed is incorrect, enter your ZIP Code or select Use current location, enter a Pharmacy name (optional), and select the preferred Distance. Then select Find pharmacies to view nearby pharmacies.
8. The plans available in your area are displayed.
Filtering and Comparing Plans
We suggest filtering plans by Insurance Carriers and sorting by Lowest drug + premium cost before comparing plans.
Filter by Insurance Carriers
To view only plans offered by specific carriers, select Filter by Insurance Carriers, choose the desired carriers, and then select Apply.
Sort Plans by Cost
You can choose to sort plans by Lowest yearly drug deductible, Lowest drug + premium cost, or Lowest monthly premium.
Select Lowest drug + premium cost to sort the plans by the lowest estimated total cost, which combines the drug costs based on the medications you entered earlier and the plan’s monthly premium.
Compare Plans Side by Side
Select Add to compare for up to three plans that you’re interested in, then scroll down and select Compare.
The plans you selected are displayed side by side.
The Overview section includes each plan's star rating, monthly premium, and yearly drug deductible.
The Drug coverage & costs section shows how many of your drugs are covered by each plan, as well as the estimated total drug cost at the preferred pharmacies you selected earlier and the plan’s premium costs.
Select See plan details to view detailed information about drug costs and make changes to your drug list or preferred pharmacies.
Select Enroll to enroll in a plan.
Select Back to plan results to return to the full list of plans.
Enrolling in a Plan
Please note that if you have a reimbursement account through your former employer, you may need to enroll in coverage through Via Benefits to maintain the qualifications for your account. If you're unsure if you have this qualification, please see Locating Your Reimbursement Account Details and Qualification Requirements for more information.
Once you’ve selected a plan, it’s time to enroll.
1. Select Enroll.
2. Select Join Plan.
3. Complete and submit the application.