Understanding the timelines and rules of the Prescription Plans from Medicare can be very overwhelming. Most of the carriers that offer prescription drug plans for the medicare community are contracted with the Federal Government and different timelines apply to different situations.

For those of you who have had Medicare and you do not have a Medicare Part D. The deadline for obtaining a Prescription Drug Plan was December 31st, 2010 at midnight. The effective date would have been January 1, 2011. If you are 65 and 3 months old and do not have a Medicare Prescription Drug Plan, the next available time to put a prescription drug plan in place would be October 15th, 2011 through December 7th, 2011,(also known as AEP or Annual Election Period) for an effective date of January 1, 2012.

We have received many calls for Prescription Drug Plans for those who are out of their Open Enrollments or past the Annual Election Period, and because of the deadlines we are unable to assist those seniors who did not participate in the Annual Election Period.

If you are in your "Open Enrollment Period" to Medicare for the Part D, which is 3 months before your 65th birthday, the month of your birthday and 3 months after your birthday, you may still apply for the prescription plans or Medicare Part D. Contact your local broker for assistance with checking your prescriptions to find the exact cost and which plan fits your needs the best.

Working Past 65 or your Open Enrollment

Another situation which would allow you to participate in the Medicare Part D plan would be if you were past your 65th birthday and leaving an employer plan you would have 60 days to obtain your Medicare Part D plan or prescription coverage. This is called an SEP (Special Election Period) set in place for those who work past 65 and have employer coverage till they leave the company or take retirement.

There is one more situation that would allow a person to obtain a prescription drug plan or Medicare Part D and that is if someone is on Medicaid (state assistance). They may change plans monthly usually they have a Medicare Advantage with the PDP inside the plan.

For those of you who have not acquired a prescription drug plan in the time frames listed above, when you are allowed or decide to participate in the Medicare Part D plan, be aware there will be penalties for late enrollment to Medicare Part D, unless you have creditable prescription coverage equal to Medicare.