Changes to Medicare Part D Creditable Coverage Notice Requirements
The Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 requires employers that provide prescription drug coverage under their group health plan to notify Medicare Part D eligible individuals whether the drug coverage they have is considered creditable or non-creditable. Under the original Act, employers were required to provide the notice on an annual basis prior to November 15th. Because the Patient Protection & Affordable Care Act (PPACA) changed the annual Medicare enrollment period to October 15th through December 7th (from November 15th through December 31st), employers need to know the following:
- CMS has issued new model notices that employers need to use after April 1, 2011. The notices are attached to this email, but can also be found at https://www.cms.gov/CreditableCoverage/Model%20Notice%20Letters.asp#TopOfPage.
- The model notices must now be sent to participants by October 15th of each year.