Medicare Prescription Payment Plan

The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan (also called M3P and MPPP) is an optional program that may help you manage your prescription payments.

Under this program:

• Costs for your covered Part D prescriptions are spread out over the plan year
• You pay $0 at the pharmacy when you fill new or existing covered Part D prescriptions
• You’ll receive a monthly bill from Caremark with the amount you owe, your due date, and instructions on how to make a payment

Note: This program can only help you manage your expenses—it can’t save you money or lower your drug costs.

The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan may help you manage your Part D prescription drug costs.

This payment option MAY BE HELPFUL if you: :

• Filled a single prescription costing more than $600 in the prior plan year.
• Have spent more than $2,000 on your covered Part D prescriptions
• Sign up early in the new plan year (the more months you have in the program, the more your payments will be spread out)

This payment option MAY NOT BE HELPFUL if you:

• Have prescription costs that are the same month to month
• Have higher drug costs later in the year, as your balance would need to be paid off by year end
• Are eligible for a Dual Eligible Special Needs Plan
• Qualify for cost savings programs :
  • Extra Help/Low-Income Subsidy (LIS)
  • Medicare Savings Program
  • State Pharmaceutical Assistance Program (SPAP)
  • Manufacturer’s Pharmaceutical Assistance Programs, sometimes called Patient Assistance Programs (PAPs)

For more information, visit Medicare Resources or contact your local Social Security office.

Find your local Social Security office at ssa.gov/locator or by calling 1-800-772-1213. TTY users can call 1-800-325-0778.

Once you have enrolled in a 2025 Medicare Advantage Plan or Prescription Drug Plan after Oct. 15, you can opt-in to the Medicare Prescription Payment Program. Opting in online will require you to register or sign in to Caremark.

Here you’ll find:

• Program information
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Balance and transaction history
• and more!

If you have questions about the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan, please call Member Services at the number on the back of your ID Card. We’re available 8am–8pm, every day from Oct. 1–Mar. 31 and weekdays from Apr. 1–Sep. 30.

Voluntary Opt-out of the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan

• Going forward, you’ll pay your pharmacy directly for all your covered Part D drug costs. (This also applies to mail order and specialty pharmacies.)
• You will stop purchases added to your balance.
• You will continue to receive monthly bills for the amount incurred while in the program until your balance is paid.
• You also have the option to pay the balance in full at any time.

If you choose to participate in the payment plan in the future, you simply opt-in as you did before.

Do I need to sign up every year?

Your participation in the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan (the program) will end on December 31. To continue with the program in the new plan year, you must opt-in again for a January 1 start date.

In the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan, you will get a monthly bill from Caremark instead of paying for your covered Part D prescriptions directly at the pharmacy. For your first month, based on your start date in the program, your monthly payment could be as high as your total covered Part D drug costs for that month.

Your monthly bill is based on what you owe for any prescriptions you get, plus any balance, from the previous month, divided by the number of months left in the year. Your payment can change every month as you fill new prescriptions or refill existing ones. These will be added to your balance which may change from month to month.

Beginning in 2025, you won’t pay more than $2,000 for out-of-pocket costs for covered Part D drugs. This is true for everyone with Medicare drug coverage, even if you don’t join the program.

It doesn’t cost anything to participate in the program and you won’t pay any interest or fees on the amount you owe.

Note: Your monthly payment calculation is done every month to capture both your balance and the remaining months left in the year.

Nonpayment of Bill

If you don’t pay your past-due balance, here’s what you can expect:

• You will continue to receive bills until your past-due balance is paid.
• There is a 60-day grace period from your payment due date to your termination from the program.
• You will be ineligible to rejoin the program until your past-due balance is paid.
• Once your past-due balance is paid, you can rejoin the program anytime.

Note: This only applies to your participation in the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan. Your Medicare drug coverage and other Medicare benefits won’t be affected, and you’ll continue to be enrolled in your plan for your drug coverage.