Medicare Prescription Payment Plan

What this actually is

This spreads your out-of-pocket drug costs across the calendar year instead of hitting you with them in January. It is worth knowing about and it is worth reading Medicare's own sentence about it, because it is unusually honest: "This payment option might help you manage your monthly expenses, but it doesn't save you money or lower your drug costs." Nothing is forgiven, nothing is subsidised — it is a smoothing of timing and nothing else. Anyone with Medicare drug coverage can use it. If your problem is that you cannot afford your drugs at all, this is the wrong tool and Extra Help, a manufacturer program, or a health center pharmacy is the right one. If your problem is specifically a large January bill you can afford over twelve months but not in one go, this solves exactly that.

Who qualifies, and what trips people up

Open to anyone with a Medicare drug plan; you opt in through your plan. It charges no interest and no fees, but you remain liable for the full amount over the year, and if you leave the plan or the year ends the balance is still yours. It can be a poor fit late in the year, and it is generally not useful if you already have Extra Help (your costs are already capped at a few dollars per prescription). Check whether you qualify for Extra Help before opting into this.