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Senior Health Insurance Information Program



COMPUTER INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMPARING MEDICARE PRESCRIPTION DRUG PLANS

1. Log onto the Medicare website at www.medicare.gov

2. Under Medicare Spotlights click on Compare Medicare Prescription Drug Plans

3. Go to “Find & Compare Plans that Cover Drugs” on the left side of your screen. Click on the Find & Compare Plans button. If a Security Alert box appears, click ok.

4. There are two ways to use the Prescription Drug Plan Finder—General Plan Search and Personalized Plan Search


Option 1--General Plan Search Instructions

This option provides you with plan comparison information but will not give you detailed information about your current enrollment.

• Click on the Begin General Search button on the right side of the screen. If a Security Alert box appears, click on yes.

• Enter the Requested Information.
    A. Zip Code - Enter your zip code

    B. Do you currently have prescription drug coverage? Click in the “Yes”, “No” or “I Don’t Know” circle. If you answer Yes another question will appear “What type(s) of prescription drug coverage do you have?” Click in the appropriate box(es).

    C. Do you have any other health insurance coverage? Click in the “Yes”, “No” or “I Don’t Know” circle. If you answer “Yes” another question will appear, “What types of health care coverage do you have? Click in the appropriate box(es).

    D. Did you get a letter from Medicare or the Social Security Administration (SSA) that said you are either eligible for or qualified for extra help paying for your Medicare Prescription Drug Plan costs? Click in the “Yes” or “No” circle. If you answer yes another question will appear “Who sent you the letter?” Click in the appropriate circle.

• If you select “Notice of Award” another question will appear, “What is your level of extra help?” Click in the appropriate circle.

• Click on the Continue button at the bottom of the page.

• The next screen may ask you to select your county if the zip code you entered crosses over into two counties. Click on the drop down arrow and then click on the county in which you reside. Click on the Continue button at the bottom of the screen.

• Continue to Step 5 below.


Option 2--Personalized Plan Search Instructions

You enter your Medicare number, date of birth and effective date of Medicare Part A or Part B. The comparison information will provide detail information about your current enrollment and any extra help for which you are eligible.

• Click on the Begin Personalized Search button on the left side of the screen. If a Security Alert box appears, click on Yes.

• Enter the requested information under Step 2. Enter Your Medicare Insurance Information. Take this information directly from your Medicare card.

    A. Medicare Claim Number—enter your claim number, including any letter at the end of your number. If you are a Railroad Retiree, click on the underlined here found under the Medicare Claim Number boxes. A single box will appear. Enter your RR number in that box and proceed with the next steps.

    B. Effective Date of Part A or Part B—Click on the arrow next to Month. Click on the appropriate month. Click on arrow next to Year. Click on the appropriate year. [Note: If you enter the Month and Year for both Part A and B you may get an error message. Just enter one.]

    C. Name—Click in the white box following “Last Name.” Type in your last name.

    D. Date of Birth- Click on the arrow next to Month. Click on the appropriate month. Click on the arrow next to Day. Click on the appropriate day. Click on the arrow next to Year. Click on the appropriate year.

    E. Zip Code—Click in the box following “Zip Code.” Type in your zip code.

• Continue to Step 5.

5. The next screen will review your current coverage and options based on your response to previous questions. Click on the Continue button at the bottom of the page.

6. If you want to get estimated drug costs for available plans and have not entered and saved your drugs previously you can click on the Enter My Drugs button on the left side of the screen.

If you are a returning user, within the past 90 days and saved your drug information you can enter your drug list ID and password date and click on the Retrieve My Drug List button. This allows you to do a new search without having to re-enter your drugs. It also allows you to make changes to your saved list of drugs.

7. If you do not have a saved drug list, enter your drugs in the box next to “Enter Drug Name.” Type the name of one of your drugs in the box. Once you enter a drug click on the box Search for drug. The drug name will appear under “My Drug List.” To enter the next drug click on the box Add More Drugs. The cursor will appear back in the box next to “Enter Drug Name.” Repeat these steps until all drugs are added.

IMPORTANT: If you do not want any of your brand name drugs substituted with a generic you need to remove the checkmark in the box next to “Use lower cost generic drugs when available.”

8. Once you’ve added all of your drugs, click on the box Continue.

9. The next page is where you will enter dosage and quantity. If you need to change the dosage listed for each drug – click on the arrow at the right of your drug name. A drop down box will appear and you can select the correct dosage.

10. To change the quantity you are prescribed click in the box under “Quantity/Days Supply” and type in the correct quantity. To change the frequency– click on the arrow at the right of “per month.” A drop down box will appear and you can select the correct frequency.

11. If you need to take additional doses of a drug click on Add Doses. The drug will be listed a second time and you can enter the correct dosage and quantity/days supply.

12. If a drug appears on your list which you no longer take or entered incorrectly click on the Remove button.

13. Once you have made all corrections to the dosage and quantity, click on the Continue button.

14. On the next screen you are asked if you want to save your drug list. If you want to save it select a security password date and click on Continue. “Your Drug Retrieval Information” will be shown. Record your “Drug List ID” and “Security Password Date” to use later. [This information will appear on your screen in a green box as you continue with this comparison. Click on the Continue button.

If you do not want to save your drug list click on the Skip this Step button.

15. Next the computer will ask “Do you want to select a specific pharmacy or pharmacies from which you prefer to purchase your drugs?” The computer will have the “No” circle already filled in. If you have a preferred pharmacy(ies), click on the Yes circle. If you don’t have a preferred pharmacy and just want to see the lowest priced plan, click on the box Continue.

16. If you choose “Yes”, you have a preferred pharmacy, on the next screen you will see a list of the pharmacies in your zip code area. You need to select the pharmacy of choice (up to 2). Click in the box under the pharmacy name. Then click in the Continue box at the bottom or top of the page.

What if your pharmacy is not on the list? Go to “Change Criteria to Revise List of Pharmacies” at the bottom of the page. You can do one of two things. Click on the down arrow next to Pharmacies Within and select a larger mileage radius OR change the zip code. Then click on Update List. A revised list of pharmacies will appear from which you can choose. Click in the box for your pharmacy choice and then click on the Continue box.

17. Your Personalized Plan List: The comparison data is for 2007. To display data for 2006 you need to click on Click Here to Display 2006 Data. This is found right above the plan table.

Compare the three lowest cost Prescription Drug Plans
On this page you will see a list of the five plans with the lowest annual cost. [If you want to see all plans offered in your zip code go to the bottom right corner of the table. You will see “Plans Per Page.” Click on the arrow in the box and click on All. The list will be revised to show all plans.].You need to click on the name of the first three plans listed, one at a time. Once you select three plans click on the Compare button and you will get a detailed comparison. To view more plan details click on the arrow at the right of “More Information”. A drop down box will appear and you can select view plan detail and click on Go. This will give you detailed information including: costs at the pharmacies you selected, restrictions required by the plan, contact information and a monthly cost estimator.

-OR-


Compare Medicare Advantage Plans
To compare Medicare Advantage Plans you need to click on View (#) Medicare Health Plans in Zip Code underlined at the top of the page. The comparison data will change from a listing of Prescription Drug Plans to a listing of Medicare Advantage Plans. Click on the name of the first three plans listed one at a time. Once you select three plans click on the Compare button and you will get a detailed comparison. To view more plan details click on the arrow at the right of “More Information”. A drop down box will appear and you can select view plan detail and click on Go. This will give you detailed information including: costs at the pharmacies you selected, restrictions required by the plan, contact information and a monthly cost estimator.

18. Once you select a plan you can enroll from the comparison screen. Click enroll in the far column of the plan you have selected. This will take you to an enrollment screen for this plan. The enrollment feature will be available for 2007 plans between November 15 and December 31, 2006.



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