The Donut Hole – Medicare Prescription Coverage Gaps
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act became the law of the land on March 23, 2010 and seeks to close some of the gap associate with the infamous Medicare Part D Donut Hole. What is the donut hole? In simplest terms, it is a coverage gap for prescription medications covered under Medicare Part D. Medicare Part D covers prescriptions up to a certain dollar amount. After than limit is reached, Medicare patients must pay out of pocket for all of their prescription medications until they reach what is called the catastrophic coverage threshold.
The exact coverage amounts and limitations change every year with inflation. However, Medicare usually covers prescriptions up to somewhere between $2,700 to $2,800 and then stops. They pick up coverage again somewhere over the $6,500 mark. In the meantime, between the two limits, patients must pay for their own medications. There are some add-on plans that offer some form of coverage for medications during the donut hole, but those are limited and usually only cover generic prescriptions. For many seniors, their prescriptions have to be changed to a generic during this time so that they can take advantage of what little coverage they do have, or at least get some relief from the expense of their out of pocket prescription costs.
During this donut hole, one option to reduce the cost of prescription medication is to buy discount drugs from an online Canadian pharmacy. Canada pharmacies can save seniors up to 80% compared to domestic pharmacies in the U.S. While the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act seeks to close the tremendous gap in coverage the donut hole represents, in the meantime many seniors elect to stop taking their medications while in the donut hole. For those seniors with ongoing conditions such as diabetes, this can be a dangerous proposition.
Canadian pharmacies are a far better alternative than stopping medication like that. There are certified, professional, full licensed pharmacies that can ship discount drugs to seniors and give them an opportunity to continue their medications and still save money. As the government works to close the donut hole, more coverage will appear over time. However, seniors with ongoing conditions and prescription drug needs don’t have the time needed to wait. Online Canada pharmacies want to help by offering these seniors a valuable service with high quality, authentic medications and pharmaceutical supplies and deeply discounted prices. Find a reputable, certified, licensed Canada pharmacy from which to buy Canadian drugs, rather than electing the unhealthy option of stopping your needed medication.