5 actions to take for 2025 medicare open enrollment

2. COMPARE OPTIONS IN THE MEDICARE PLAN FINDER This tool on the Medicare.gov website makes comparing all of your area’s plans easy. Type in your zip code, drugs, doses and preferred

pharmacies to find each plan’s premiums, deductibles and medication costs. The range in monthly premiums alone could be large. For example, stand-alone Part D plans run from zero to $125.80

in Chicago; in Tampa they are zero to $167. Look at the 2025 complete costs for your present plan along with its competitors in the Plan Finder. Click on LOWEST DRUG + PREMIUM COST to sort

plans by lowest total costs, including premiums, deductibles and copayments. IF YOU TAKE ONLY A FEW LOW-COST MEDICATIONS, you may be interested in a low premium. You won’t reach the cap

because the premium isn’t included in the $2,000 calculation. IF YOU HAVE EXPENSIVE MEDICATIONS, you may get to the cap quickly, but a low premium still should figure prominently in your

decision. IF YOU’RE BETWEEN THE TWO EXTREMES, compare all costs and make sure your drugs are in a plan’s formulary. If not, the $2,000 cap calculation won’t include them. If you take Enbrel,

an expensive medication for rheumatoid arthritis, and live in Chicago, expect the zero premium plan to charge the maximum $590 deductible. But once you reach the $2,000 cap, you will pay no

more for the rest of the year. If you choose a plan with a $102 premium, your total annual costs will be more than $1,200 on top of the cap. By contrast, choosing a $20.90-a-month plan that

doesn’t cover Enbrel, you would pay around $84,480 in premiums and medication costs, the Plan Finder estimates. “Some beneficiaries could be facing material premium increases or have their

plan terminated or shifted into another,” says Kevin Pierce, senior consulting actuary for Seattle-based Milliman consultants. “Other beneficiaries could see no premium change or a premium

reduction.” A KFF analysis found that in California, enrollees in eight of 16 national Part D plans offered in 2024 will see their premiums increase by $35 if they don’t switch to a

different plan in 2025, while enrollees in six other national plans in 2024 will see a premium reduction. Almost all stand-alone Part D plans participated in a voluntary program in which CMS

offered plan sponsors extra money if they would agree to cap premium increases at $35 or less for 2025. The program is scheduled to last at least three years.