Medicare Part D Notices – Government Mandated by October 15th
Just because you do not have any employees age 65 or greater does not mean you are off the hook.
The Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA) added prescription drug program to Medicare, referred to as “Part D” in 2006. This law created an ongoing notification requirement for groups to disclose whether their prescription drug coverage is “creditable”. Generally, prescription drug coverage that’s expected to pay, on average, at least as much as Medicare’s standard prescription drug coverage.
The creditable coverage notice must be given to all Part-D eligible individuals who are covered under an employer’s prescription drug plan. Required recipients include not only Medicare enrolled employees; but also any retirees, COBRA beneficiaries, their spouses and dependents who are on Medicare. We recommend employers distribute a Notice to all employees to avoid missing any potential Medicare eligible person!
Steps to take:
- Determine if your plan is creditable
- Communicate the status to eligible individuals prior to October 15th (Medicare Part D Annual Enrollment Period October 15 through December 7th of each year).
- Provide online disclosure to CMS at: https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Prescription-Drug-Coverage/CreditableCoverage/
Jones Advisors will assist our group benefit clients by providing appropriate Disclosure Notice with detailed instructions. If your group medical plan has already renewed this year, then you would have received this notice from Jones Advisors as part of the Model Annual Notice Packet.
Contact a member of our team for more details on how to protect your business. 919-772-9133
Joe Gupton
Janice Lane
Jim Harlow
