Many Medicare drug plans place drugs into different “tiers.” Drugs in each tier have a different cost. Some plans may have more tiers and some may have less. Below is an example of tiers:
Tier You Pay What’s Covered
1 Lowest Copayment Most generic
prescription drugs
2 Medium copayment Preferred, brand
name prescription drugs
3 Higher copayment Non-preferred, brand
name prescription drugs
In some cases, if your drug is in a higher tier and your doctor thinks you need that drug instead of a similar drug on a lower tier, you can file an exception and ask your plan for a lower copayment.
