Medicare-Approved Drug Discount Cards
3 Simple Steps to Enrollment for Seniors
Different people have different drug needs and prefer to get their medicines in different ways. To compare cards and decide which Medicare-approved drug discount card is best for you, contact Medicare for help - either by calling 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227), visiting www.medicare.gov or contacting your local State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP). If you visit www.medicare.gov, you can use our Price Compare tool to help choose your card or you can download our Guide to Choosing a Medicare-Approved Drug Discount Card for more information.
You can always talk to a live person at 1-800-MEDICARE to get the facts you need. To better serve you when you contact us, have the following information ready:
- Your ZIP code,
- Your medicines and doses (you can find this information on your pill bottles), and
- Your total monthly income (if you are interested in the additional financial help available for people with Medicare who have lower incomes).
To help narrow your discount card choices, you can also tell us your preferred pharmacy, whether you are interested in low-cost or no-cost cards, and the names of any specific cards you want more information about.
If you call 1-800-MEDICARE, we will send you a personalized brochure that allows you to look at discount cards based on your drug needs and your preferences about how to get your medicines. You can use this personalized information to:
- Look at the prices being offered for all of your drugs,
- Look at the annual enrollment fee charged by card sponsors that provide the best prices on your drugs, and
- Look at the pharmacies that accept the discount card to make sure your preferred pharmacy is included.
We will also send you a simple enrollment form and tell you how to contact the card sponsors directly for additional information or to enroll.
Requests for information about the Medicare-approved drug discount cards are at an all-time high. We have increased the number of customer service representatives from 1,200 to 1,800 at the Medicare call centers to make sure we can respond to every one of your calls. We are taking other steps to help reduce your call time and to use our Medicare.gov web site more easily.
The best times for you to call to get the shortest waiting time are after 6:00 p.m. EST and before 6:00 a.m. EST. The best days to call are Thursday, Friday and Sunday.