Medicare Notification

** Please disregard this notice if you and/or your dependents are not eligible for Medicare.**

Ohio University must distribute this notice per the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003. If you have questions regarding this notice, please contact Medicare directly at 1-800-633-4227.

This notice is intended for employees eligible for Medicare, and dependents of employees eligible for Medicare.  You or your dependents may be eligible for Medicare if you (they) are:

-          age 65 or older

-          under age 65 with certain disabilities

-          any age with End-Stage Renal Disease

For details regarding Medicare eligibility, call Medicare at 1-800-633-4227

This notice has information about your current prescription drug coverage with Ohio University, and a new Medicare prescription drug coverage available January 1, 2006 through Medicare.

Enrollment

People with Medicare can enroll in a Medicare prescription drug plan from November 15, 2005 through May 15, 2006.  Our records indicate that you are currently covered by an Ohio University health plan.  Ohio University has determined that the prescription drug coverage offered by its health plans are, on average for all plan participants, expected to pay out as much as the standard Medicare prescription drug coverage will pay.

Because you have existing prescription drug coverage that, on average, is as good as Medicare coverage, you can choose to join a Medicare prescription drug plan later. You may keep your existing coverage and not pay extra if you later decide to enroll in Medicare coverage. 

Each year after the current enrollment period, you will have the opportunity to enroll in a Medicare prescription drug plan between November 15th through December 31st.

If you choose to enroll in the Medicare prescription program, you will still be eligible to receive all of your current health and prescription drug benefits with Ohio University.

You should also know that if you drop or lose your coverage with Ohio University and do not enroll in Medicare prescription drug coverage after your current coverage ends, you may pay more to enroll in Medicare prescription drug coverage later. If after May 15, 2006, you go 63 days or longer without prescription drug coverage that is at least as good as Medicare’s prescription drug coverage; your monthly premium will go up at least 1% per month for every month after May 15, 2006 that you did not have that coverage. For example, if you go nineteen months without coverage, your premium will always be at least 19% higher than what most other people pay. You will have to pay this higher premium as long as you have Medicare coverage. In addition, you may have to wait until next November to enroll.

Resources

More detailed information about Medicare plans that offer prescription drug coverage are available in the October 2005 “Medicare & You 2006” handbook. You should have received a copy of the handbook in the mail from Medicare. You may also be contacted directly by Medicare prescription drug plans. The following resources provide more details about Medicare’s prescription drug plan:

• Visit www.medicare.gov for personalized help,

• Call your State Health Insurance Assistance Program (see your copy of the Medicare & You handbook for their telephone number)

• Call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227). TTY users should call 1-877-486-2048.

For people with limited income and resources, extra help paying for a Medicare prescription drug plan is available. Information about this extra help is available from the Social Security Administration (SSA). For more information about this extra help, visit SSA online at www.socialsecurity.gov,  or call them at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778).