To join a drug plan, you must:

• Have Medicare Part A (Hospital Insurance) or Medicare Part B (Medical Insurance)
• Be a United States citizen or lawfully present in the United States

To join a Medicare Advantage plan with drug coverage or most other Medicare health plan with drug coverage, you must:

• Have Part A and Part B
• Be a United States citizen or lawfully present in the United States
• Live in the service area of the Medicare health plan or drug plan you want to join

If you have a Medicare Advantage plan and then join a separate Medicare drug plan, in most cases, you’ll lose your Medicare Advantage plan and go back to Original Medicare for your health coverage.

Plans can offer different combinations of what drugs they cover, what pharmacies are in-network, and what things cost, as long as they meet standards set by Medicare.

You can learn more about joining at:
https://www.medicare.gov/basics/get-started-with-medicare/get-more-coverage/joining-a-plan

IMPORTANT!
If you don’t get drug coverage when you’re first eligible for Medicare, and you don’t have drug coverage that’s expected to pay, on average, at least as much as standard Medicare prescription drug coverage, otherwise known as credible prescription drug coverage, you may have to pay a lifetime Part D late enrollment penalty if you join later. The penalty is added to your monthly premium for as long as you have Medicare drug coverage.

You can learn more about penalties at:
https://www.medicare.gov/basics/costs/medicare-costs/avoid-penalties