AARP develops “donut hole calculator”

Online calculator helps people avoid dreaded “doughnut hole”

Each year, an estimated three million-plus older Americans fall into the “doughnut hole”—a coverage gap in Medicare’s prescription drug program that leaves individuals on the hook for all of their own drug costs while still paying premiums.  The calculator, available at http://doughnuthole.aarp.org/  helps people find options to save money and potentially avoid this dreaded coverage gap.

The calculator guides visitors through their prescription drug options using localized information about their plans and prescriptions to determine if or when they will fall into the coverage gap.  In about 15 minutes, visitors can view a graph of their out-of-pocket spending by month, look up lower cost drugs for their conditions, create a medication record, and print out personalized letters to their doctors to help start a conversation about safely switching prescriptions.

“More than three million people fall into the gap each year, and millions more nervously wonder if they might fall in,” said AARP Executive Vice President Nancy LeaMond.  “For the first time, people in Medicare have a simple way to learn if they’ll fall into the doughnut hole and find ways to avoid it by switching to safe, less expensive medications.”

The calculator is powered by DestinationRx as part of a special arrangement between AARP and Medicare.  The data is the same used by the Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Finder, giving users the most accurate and up-to-date drug pricing information available.