Delaware’s Department of Insurance (DOI) issued a warning amid confusion about an online tool for finding medication through Medicare.
Officials say the federal online Prescription Plan Finder was updated this year for the first time in nearly ten years. And during the open enrollment period, the state has been receiving complaints about the new tool from patients who say they are paying more out of pocket than they expected.
Unlike past iterations, it sorts medication by the lowest premium costs. But when patients select a medication based off that criteria, they are surprised to find out low premium costs are not the same as low annual costs.
“You’ll see this big number on the left of the screen and it very much highlights that premium amount, but in reality that doesn’t cover the total cost to the consumer including out of pocket expenses, for example, at the pharmacy,” said DOI Senior Policy Advisor Christina Haas.
Haas has this warning for those still signing up before the Dec. 7th deadline, “Make sure you’re looking at all costs associated with the plan, and make sure the plan covers all prescriptions that you need.”
Haas says the insurance department is working with Delaware’s Congressional delegation to find possible solutions on the federal level.
She adds federal representatives are likely working to create an additional enrollment period for those who have had issues signing up.