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2020 looks to be another good year for Medicare beneficiaries in terms of prescription drug coverage (Part D) as premiums nationally have decreased yet again for the second straight year.

In 2020 the national average premium, according to the Centers of Medicare/Medicaid Services (CMS) is projected to be about $40.61 a month for those who are considered to be of average health. This is a decrease of roughly 12.6% from 2019 where in that year the national average was $46.91 a month.

States such as California, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky. Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico and Virginia all will see decreases in premiums by more than 19%.

Please note premiums are also based on types and number of medications. For those who use little to no medications the premiums can be as low as $13.20 a month. Conversely those who happen to be taking many medications the premium, which includes a deductible, may be as high as about $90.00 depending on the state they reside in.

For those who are already enrolled into Medicare 2020 looks to be a good year to go shopping, but with every bed of roses there are also some thorns that must be dealt with too.

The first thorn just happens to be with the deductible for the most affordable Part D plans available. The deductible is the amount that must be paid for prescription drugs before a plan begins to pay and, unfortunately, the cost of the deductible has risen by as much as 5.50% on a national level.

In Pennsylvania, Georgia and West Virginia the deductible has increased by over 9.00% while Colorado, Texas and South Carolina will see the deductible, on average increase by as must 7.80%.

The other thorn that comes with this bed of lower premiums is for those who wish to not have to deal with a deductible.

In 2020 these Medicare beneficiaries will see less options on the shelves as the number of plans have decreased by about 50% on average. The other issue, the premiums of these plans have increased on average by 15%.

The good news though is that there are few outlier states in terms of Part D plans without a deductible as states will see an actual decrease in premiums for these plans.

Alaska, Colorado, Georgia, Kansas, Maine, New Hampshire, Missouri and Virginia non-deductible plan premiums have decreased by just over 3.15% on average.

With politicians on both sides of the aisle screaming for lower costing medications 2020, like 2019, will be a good year to assess current coverage and then go shopping. The ability to save even more on a monthly basis, while maintaining past coverage can be had, just read the fine print with the co-pays as those percent’s have not be released by CMS