Medicare Part D’s new prescription drug benefit becomes available on January 1, 2006. There is a misconception that only employer-sponsored medical plans with retiree medical coverage need to take action with respect to Medicare Part D. This is not true. Employers sponsoring medical plans (and even dental plans, vision plans, and EAPs) with prescription drug coverage for active employees must notify their active participant employees and their dependents who are Medicare eligible by November 15, 2005, as to whether the medical plan’s prescription drug coverage is “creditable.”

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