
The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan is a new program required under the Inflation Reduction Act. Starting in 2025, eligible Part D enrollees can pay out-of-pocket prescription drug costs in monthly payments instead of all at once. This program does not save you money or lower your drug costs - it's a monthly installment payment plan.
Here's a deeper look into the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan.
The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan is an optional program that can help you manage your prescription payments. With this program:
Note: This program can only help you manage your expenses—it can’t save you money or lower your drug costs.
The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan may help you manage your Part D prescription drug costs. Here are some tips to help you decide:
This payment option might not be helpful if you:
For more information, visit Medicare.gov’s Prescription Payment Plan page or contact your local Social Security office. You can find your local Social Security office at ssa.gov/locator or by calling 1-800-772-1213. TTY users can call 1-800-325-0778.
Once you have enrolled in a 2025 Medicare Advantage Plan or Prescription Drug Plan after Oct. 15, you can opt-in to the Medicare Prescription Payment Program.
To opt-in, you can print, fill out and mail a Medicare Prescription Payment Plan Participation Request Form to the address on the form or downloard and complete a fillable form and email to pharmserv@icarehealthplan.org:
If you have questions about the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan, please contact Customer Care by dialing the number on the Back of your ID Card. You can call customer service five days a week, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. However, please note that our automated phone system may answer your call during weekends and holidays.
When you opt out of The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan here’s what happens:
If you choose to participate in the program in the future, you simply opt-in as you did before.
Your participation in the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan (the program) will extend into the next plan year unless you opt out of the program. If you change plans, you will have to opt-in again.
In the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan (the program), you will get a monthly bill from iCare instead of paying for your covered Part D prescriptions at the pharmacy. For your first month, based on your start date in the program, your monthly payment could be as high as your total covered Part D drug costs for that month.
Your monthly bill is based on what you owe for any prescriptions you get, plus any balance from the previous month, divided by the number of months left in the year. Your payment can change every month as you fill new prescriptions or refill existing ones. These will be added to your balance which may change from month to month.
Beginning in 2025, you won’t pay more than $2,000 for out-of-pocket costs for covered Part D drugs. This is true for everyone with Medicare drug coverage, even if you don’t join the program.
It doesn’t cost anything to participate in the program and you won’t pay any interest or fees on the amount you owe.
Note: Your monthly payment calculation is done every month to capture both your balance and the remaining months left in the year.
If you don’t pay your past-due balance, here’s what you can expect:
Note: This only applies to your participation in the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan. Your Medicare drug coverage and other Medicare benefits won’t be affected, and you’ll continue to be enrolled in your plan for your drug coverage.
Here are some contacts that could help you decide if the program is right for you:
Medicare—Visit Medicare.gov (opens in new window), or call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227), 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. TTY users can call 1-877-486-2048.
State Health Insurance Program (SHIP)—Visit shiphelp.org (opens in new window) to get the phone number for your local SHIP and get free, personalized health insurance counseling.
iCare—If you have questions about the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan, please contact Customer Service by dialing the number on the Back of your ID Card. You can call Customer Service five days a week, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. However, please note that our automated phone system may answer your call during weekends and holidays.
If you disagree with our decision, you have the right to ask iCare for a review. Go to our file a complaint page to submit an appeal. You must submit your appeal within 60 days after the incident or event initiating the grievance.
Some links on this page may take you to iCare non-Medicare product or service pages or to a different website.
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This communication does not guarantee benefits and does not indicate all services received will be covered by your plan. Please refer to your Evidence of Coverage or call Customer Care at the number on the back of your iCare ID card to confirm that the service will be covered by your plan.
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