This important information is only for our clients who sponsor a group health plan that provides prescription drug benefits. It provides IMPORTANT information about the annual disclosure notice that these plan sponsors/employers must make to the government regarding the "creditability" of their group prescription drug benefits with Medicare Part D. No disclosure notice is required from plan sponsors who received the Medicare Part D federal subsidy.

The Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act of 1993 (MMA) added Part D to Medicare establishing prescription drug coverage. Group health plans that provide prescription drug coverage to Medicare eligible individuals must disclose each year to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) whether that coverage is creditable or non-creditable prescription drug coverage. To be creditable, the coverage must be at least as good as standard Medicare Part D Prescription Drug coverage.

This disclosure to CMS is required to be made annually and upon any change that affects whether a group health plan's prescription drug coverage is creditable. For plan years ending in 2009 and after, the disclosure of creditable coverage status must be made within 60 days after the beginning of the plan year.

The disclosure to CMS may be made through the CMS website at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/CreditableCoverage. Scroll down to "Related Links Inside CMS" and click on "Disclosure to CMS Form." If you have not changed your prescription drug coverage since 2008, you should have submitted a disclosure statement last year. The same information must be provided this year.

CMS requires this disclosure be made by an employee of the sponsoring employer, so your TPG Service Team regretfully is precluded from making the disclosure for our clients. However, contact your TPG Benefits Service Administrator/Specialist if you would like help making your CMS disclosure.