New Tools For Medicare Part D Beneficiaries

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has recently made some new tools available to help physicians more easily obtain information about Part D formularies and whether a specific drug is covered by a Part D plan.  CMS has created a Web-based formulary finder at http://formularyfinder.medicare.gov/formularyfinder/selectstate.asp which provides a list of all Part D plans in a given state and links directly to a plan's home page for a complete listing.  In mid-January the CMS formulary finder will be linked directly to individual plan formularies.  It is important to note that during January all plans are supposed to have in place a transition process that allows enrollees to continue their current drugs.  During this time-frame physicians can work with their patients to adjust drugs to new formularies or request exceptions if necessary.