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Medicare Cards Worth a Look
by Kimberly Lankford

I've heard some negative publicity about the new medicare-approved prescription drug cards. Is it still worthwhile to get one?

A couple of reports found that the medicare card discounts are no better than prices at Internet and mail-order pharmacies. But that's no reason to dismiss the cards out of hand.

Even if you can find lower-priced drugs elsewhere, you should definitely get one of the new prescription drug cards if you're single earning less than $12,123 per year or $16,362 if you're married (income includes 100% of your social security benefits as well as any income you report on your tax return). In that case, you'd get a $600 annual credit to help pay for your medications -- but only if you sign up for one of the cards. You can't qualify for the credit if you have any outpatient prescription drug coverage, such as through retiree medical insurance offered by a former employer.

People who qualify for the credit will get their card free; everyone else pays up to $30 per card.

If you don't qualify for the credit, it's still worthwhile to see if one of the cards can save you some money. Go to Medicare.gov and type in information about the prescriptions you take to see how much the drugs would cost using the cards available in your area (you can also search for cards that can be used at particular pharmacies). You'll probably have several card choices, depending on where you live, but can only sign up for one medicare-approved card. If you're in a medicare HMO, you may be required to get the card through your insurer.

But as the cost-comparison studies have discovered, don't rely on the medicare-approved card to be your only source of drug discounts. Even though you can only have one medicare-approved card, you can still have an unlimited number of drug discount cards that aren't part of the medicare program -- such as discount cards from your pharmacy, from AARP (which now offers a medicare-approved card and virtually identical card that isn't part of the program) or from pharmaceutical companies (like the TogetherRx, Pfizer for Living Share Card and GlaxoSmithKline Orange Card if you qualify).

The Medicare Rights Center has an interesting comparison of the prices for common medications in Manhattan using various types of discounts.

To search for other discount cards and programs, see the National Council on the Aging's BenefitsCheckUpRx.com, the Medicare Rights Center's Help Paying for Prescription Drugs and the pharmacy industry's HelpingPatients.org. And don't forget to look for other ways to save money, like shopping at Web sites like Drugstore.com and Costco.com and asking your doctor about any generic alternatives to the drugs you're currently taking.

Find out what else you should consider when picking a medicare discount card.