The Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) has expanded Medicare’s Web site, http://www.medicare.gov, to include:
Prescription Drug Assistance Program Compare, which has information on how to apply for drug assistance provided by pharmaceutical companies, states, community-based programs and disease-specific programs. You can search by zip code for drug coverage benefits offered by Medicare managed care plans and supplemental Medigap plans in your community.
Participating Physician Directory, which enables users to search by specialty and location among the 90% of all U.S. physicians known as “participating providers.” These doctors accept Medicare payment rates and charge beneficiaries only the standard, 20% coinsurance rate.
Nursing Home Compare, by far the most popular part of www.medicare.gov, has information on 16,500 nursing homes participating in Medicare and Medicaid. You can compare them on data such as the number and type of residents, facility ownership, staffing levels, staffing mix, and ratings in relation to state and national averages. If you don’t have Internet access, call 1-800 Medicare (1-800-633-4227) for printouts of this information.
