FAQ Friday: Does Medicare Supplement Plan G Cover Prescription Drugs

Medicare Supplement Plans do not cover prescription medications, when you choose a Supplement Plan you will also choose a stand-alone Medicare Part D Plan.

There are typically over 30 different Medicare Part D Plans, the benefit of choosing a stand-alone Part D Plan is that you will get to choose the Part D Plan that covers your medications for the lowest cost.

In contrast, if you choose a Medicare Advantage Plan, you will have to accept whichever drug plan is part of that Advantage Plan. Often times this results in high drug costs to people that choose a Medicare Advantage Plan.

Medicare Supplements all use stand-alone drug plans, or your Medicare Part D. Every Medicare drug plan is different based on the medications you’re taking at that time, therefore there is no way to list an exact cost for these plans. Each Medicare drug plan has its own list of covered drugs (called a formulary). Many Medicare drug plans place drugs into different “tiers” on their formularies. Drugs in each tier have a different cost.

A drug in a lower tier will generally cost you less than a drug in a higher tier. Sometimes, if your doctor thinks you need a drug that’s on a higher tier, you or your doctor can ask your plan for an exception to get a lower co-payment.