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Medicare Prescription Payment Plan

A new payment option available to eligible members

Manage your out-of-pocket prescription drug costs

Beginning January 1, 2025, Medicare Prescription Payment Plan is available to members with Part D coverage. This program will allow you to manage your out-of-pocket Part D prescription drug costs by spreading them out across the plan year instead of paying at the pharmacy. If you decide to participate, you’ll get a monthly bill from UCare for your medications. You'll get a separate bill for your plan premium, if you have one. This payment option is free with no fees or interest charged under the program. UCare is partnering with SimplicityRx to administer this program.

Who’s likely to benefit

You’re most likely to benefit from participating in the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan if you have high drug costs earlier in the calendar year. Although you can start participating in this payment option at any time in the year, starting earlier in the year (before September), gives you more months to spread out your drug costs. Beginning January 1, 2025, your out-of-pocket drug costs won’t exceed $2,000. Once you hit that amount in annual drug spending (excluding UCare’s amount), you pay $0.

Check out this helpful tool on the Medicare website to answer a few questions and find out if you're likely to benefit from this payment option.

Sign up for the new program

If you’d like to participate in this payment option for 2025, you can sign up, beginning October 15, 2024, by:

Beginning January 1, 2025, you'll be able to get into the member payment portal, if you've already signed up for the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan.

Who’s eligible

Any member with Medicare Part D coverage through UCare and EssentiaCare is eligible for the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan. You must be enrolled in a 2025 plan to qualify.

Plans excluded from this program:

  • UCare Minnesota Senior Health Options (MSHO) (HMO D-SNP)
  • UCare Connect + Medicare (HMO D-SNP)
  • UCare Value (HMO-POS)
  • UCare Value Plus (HMO-POS)
  • MinnesotaCare
  • Minnesota Senior Care Plus (MSC+)
  • Prepaid Medical Assistance Program (PMAP)
  • UCare Connect (SNBC)
  • UCare Individual & Family Plans

How Medicare Prescription Payment Plan works

You can learn more information about the process and what to expect with the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan fact sheet.

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Sign up

The program will begin on Jan. 1, 2025. Once you sign up, UCare will review your request and send you a letter confirming the payment option added to your plan and how to pay your bill. You will need to join the program before you get your medication.
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Fill your rx

When you get ready to fill a prescription drug covered by Part D, UCare will automatically notify the pharmacy that you’re in the program. You won’t have to pay for your prescriptions during your visit at the pharmacy or through mail order. 
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Pay your bill

UCare will send you a bill each month that you can also access online. It will include the amount you owe on your prescriptions, when it’s due and how to pay. You'll pay for your plan premium in a separate bill, if you have one. See an example of how your monthly bill is calculated starting on page 6 in the fact sheet.
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Opt out or program removal

You can opt out of the program by calling customer service. You'll still need to pay off your account balance. If you miss a monthly payment, we will send a reminder. Failure to pay by the due date will result in removal from the program. You’ll still have Medicare Part D coverage.

Frequently asked questions

You can continue to access the member payment portal to view your balance and pay your bill online. You must have a UCare online member account set up to access the payment portal. UCare is partnering with SimplicityRx to administer this program.

Medicare Prescription Payment Plan might help you manage your monthly expenses, but it doesn’t save you money or lower your drug costs. If you need assistance with lowering your drug costs, you may qualify for Extra Help, a Medicare program that helps people with limited income pay for prescription drugs, plan premiums and other health care costs. The amount of Extra Help you get will determine your total monthly premium as a member of our plan. If you automatically qualify for Extra Help, Medicare will mail you a letter and you won’t have to apply. To learn more about this program or if you qualify, call:

You can also find more information on the Medicare and Social Security Administration websites. All members with Part D coverage are eligible to participate in this payment option, regardless of income.

Yes, you will need to sign up every year to participate. If you leave your current plan or change to a new Medicare drug plan, your participation in the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan will end. Contact customer service if you change plans and would like to participate in the program again.

If you believe that UCare has failed to provide these services or discriminated in another way on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability or sex, you can file an oral or written grievance.

To submit an oral grievance, please call the customer service number on the back of your member ID card. You can also send a written grievance by:

  • Mail to:
    UCare
    Attn: Appeals and Grievances
    PO Box 52
    Minneapolis, MN 55440-0052
  • Email to cag@ucare.org
  • Fax to 612-884-2021

You can also file a civil rights complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights, electronically through the Office for Civil Rights Complaint portal or by mail or phone at:

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
200 Independence Avenue SW
Room 509F, HHH Building
Washington, D.C. 20201
1-800-368-1019, 1-800-537-7697 (TDD)

Check out more information on the process and how to follow up on the status of complaints, appeals and grievances.


If you already paid for your prescriptions at the pharmacy or through mail order, you may qualify for urgent election into the Medicare Payment Prescription Plan. To qualify for urgent election, you must meet the following criteria:

  • If you think that any delay in filling your prescription may jeopardize your life, health or ability to regain maximum function, including the 24-hour processing time for your request
  • If you request urgent retroactive election within 72 hours of the date and time the urgent claims are determined

You will receive a reimbursement within 45 days once you’re admitted into the program. For more information call the customer service number on the back of your member ID card.

Need more information?

Contact customer service or send us a note through your online member account.

You can also visit the Medicare website or call 1-800-633-4227 (TTY 1-877-486-2048), open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.