Medicare Part D Creditable Coverage Annual Notice for 2023
Medicare Part D Creditable Coverage Annual Notice for 2023
October 6, 2022 - Melissa Post
Hello Hampstead School District Retiree,
According to the Medicare Prescription Drug Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003, the Hampstead School District is required each year to send notices for Medicare-eligible retirees and active employees. HealthTrust, Hampstead's group service provider mails these notices on our behalf. You may have already received your copy, and it is important to note that there is no action required of you. The mailings are simply to provide informational material to you as a consumer of medical insurance through an HSD plan regardless of whether you are Medicare eligible now, or, will soon be due to age. Although there is no action required of you, the notices are meant to inform you of your options if you wanted to switch plans. In other words, the government by law, mandates that we inform you of your prescription drug coverage options through the government. If you have a spouse enrolled in a Hampstead plan, this messaging is for your spouse as well.
Notices were mailed today by HealthTrust to certain individuals in our group insurance plan regarding whether the prescription drug coverage that the Hampstead School District offers through HealthTrust medical plans is "creditable." Creditable coverage means that the prescription drug coverage is equal to or greater than the standard federal Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage. All of the current HealthTrust medical plans that the Hampstead School District offers have creditable prescription drug coverage, except for the Medicomp Three without Prescription Drug Plan which, by design, has no separate prescription drug coverage associated with it.
To learn more, refer to the links below to review the three sample notices mailed by HealthTrust on October 6, 2022:
Notice of 2023 Creditable Coverage went to all individuals enrolled in our Medicomp Three with Prescription Drug Plan. This notice is for those on Medicare who also have the supplemental Medicomp Three with RX plan through Hampstead. This notice informs these individuals that their Hampstead Medicomp with RX plan is creditable prescription drug coverage which means that it is expected to pay out more for prescription drugs than the standard Medicare prescription drug coverage pays; however, if you later decide to join a Medicare drug plan instead, you should not have to pay a higher premium (a penalty) because of the fact that you retained creditable coverage through HSD.
Notice of 2023 Creditable Coverage for Active Employees and Early Retirees went to individuals who will be Medicare-eligible due to age. This notice is for those who are on a Hampstead group medical plan other than the supplemental Hampstead Medicomp plan, so for example, an HMO Blue Plan or SOS plan. These individuals are either still working for Hampstead or are retired and under the age of 65. It informs these members that their Hampstead medical insurance plan provides creditable prescription drug coverage which means that it is expected to pay out more for prescription drugs than the standard Medicare prescription drug coverage pays. The notice is meant to inform anyone in this group of the option to elect a Medicare Part D prescription drug plan in the future instead of retaining creditable coverage with a Hampstead Medicomp with RX plan later on when it comes time to sign up for general Medicare.
Notice of 2023 Non-Creditable Coverage went to individuals who are enrolled in HealthTrust's Medicomp Three without Prescription Drug Plan. This notice is for those who are on Medicare who also have the supplemental Medicomp Three WITH NO RX plan through Hampstead. It informs these members that their Hampstead plan is NOT creditable and it would not be simply by its own design because this plan does not come with the prescription drug piece. This should not matter in most cases, since members receiving this notice should have already enrolled in some other plan through Medicare or elsewhere that provides retail pharmacy or mail order prescription drug benefits such as a Medicare Part D plan.
For more information about these notices or your current prescription drug coverage, please contact:
HR Administrator
SAU55 for Hampstead School District
20 Mary E. Clark Drive, Unit 10 | Hampstead, NH 03841
603-329-6744 | extension 3006