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Medicare Rx Law Creates Notice Duty for Employers

January 20, 2006

By March 31, employers will have to complete and submit disclosure notices to the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services revealing whether the employers' prescription drug coverage provided to individuals eligible for Medicare Part D is at least equal to the Part D drug benefits (defined as "creditable coverage"). Guidance on determining if an employer's plan is creditable is available in the Creditable Coverage Simplified Determination, and more general information is available through the CMS Web site.

Even employers that don't provide retiree health care coverage need to file the form if any employees and dependents who are eligible for Medicare Part D are covered under the employer's plan. Other employers who have applied for and are qualified to receive federal drug benefit cost subsidies must file the electronic disclosure. In future years, the disclosure form will have to be filed annually within 60 days of the beginning of the plan year.