Medicare Part D Notices Are Due Before Oct. 15

Employers who sponsor group health plans that
offer prescription drug coverage to Medicare-eligible individuals must provide a Medicare Part D Creditable or Non-Creditable Coverage Notice to those individuals before October 15.

These notices inform Medicare-eligible individuals whether the plan’s prescription drug coverage is expected to pay, on average, as much as the standard Medicare prescription drug coverage (meaning it is "creditable”).

Here's what the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has to say:

The Medicare Modernization Act (MMA) requires entities (whose policies include prescription drug coverage) to notify Medicare eligible policyholders whether their prescription drug coverage is creditable coverage, which means that the coverage is expected to pay on average as much as the standard Medicare prescription drug coverage. For these entities, there are two disclosure requirements:

1. The first disclosure requirement is to provide a written disclosure notice to all Medicare eligible individuals annually who are covered under its prescription drug plan, prior to October 15th each year and at various times as stated in the regulations, including to a Medicare eligible individual when he/she joins the plan. This disclosure must be provided to Medicare eligible active working individuals and their dependents, Medicare eligible COBRA individuals and their dependents, Medicare eligible disabled individuals covered under your prescription drug plan and any retirees and their dependents. The MMA imposes a late enrollment penalty on individuals who do not maintain creditable coverage for a period of 63 days or longer following their initial enrollment period for the Medicare prescription drug benefit. Accordingly, this information is essential to an individual's decision whether to enroll in a Medicare Part D prescription drug plan. 
   
   
2. The second disclosure requirement is for entities to complete the Online Disclosure to CMS Form to report the creditable coverage status of their prescription drug plan. The Disclosure should be completed annually no later than 60 days from the beginning of a plan year (contract year, renewal year), within 30 days after termination of a prescription drug plan, or within 30 days after any change in creditable coverage status. -- This requirement does not pertain to the Medicare beneficiaries for whom entities are receiving the Retiree Drug Subsidy (RDS).

Please click on the links below for guidance documents relating to Creditable Coverage requirements for employers, union-sponsored plans, and model notice documents. Questions? Don't hesitate to ask, we can help.

• Creditable Coverage Disclosure to CMS Guidance - Updated 6/29/09
• Creditable Coverage Disclosure Form Instructions an Screen Shots
• Disclosure to CMS Guidance and Instructions
• Disclosure to CMS Form
• Model Notice Letters