CMS Updates Medicare Plan Finder Amid Advocates' Concerns

by Leslie Small

Having already rolled out a major redesign of the Medicare Plan Finder in August, CMS recently revealed additional updates it made before the start of Medicare open enrollment on Oct. 15 — including a feature that advocates have said is critical to helping people find the best Part D plan.

In an Oct. 11 email, a CMS spokesperson said the agency "added a feature that allows Medicare Plan Finder users to sort plans by the total cost of estimated annual drug costs plus premiums."

So did CMS's plan finder update ease Medicare beneficiary advocacy organizations' concerns about the redesigned tool? Partially, says Ann Kayrish, the National Council on Aging's senior program manager for Medicare. She says while it's good that the sort function is back, the total-cost feature is not available on the plan-comparison page — which makes comparing plans more complicated than it was before.

"In general, the opening week of open enrollment has been rocky as some of the basic information like extra help subsidy levels and copay have been inaccurate, [and] pharmacy status and cost information inconsistent," she adds. "To increase confidence in plan selections, counselors are spending time contacting the plan or Medicare to confirm coverage information."

In its Oct. 11 email, CMS noted that it also implemented several other changes to the Medicare Plan Finder prior to open enrollment, including:

✦ The ability to display drug tier costs;
✦ A footnote for excluded drugs;
✦ An option to add mail order on the pharmacy selection page;
✦ A note about over-the-counter drugs on the drug lookup page; and
✦ An option to compare a third retail pharmacy when mail order isn’t selected.

From RADAR on Drug Benefits