| Fee that is charged to pay for Medicare coverage. Both Medicare Part B and Medicare Part D require the payment of premiums. Medicare Part B premiums are adjusted annually by the Federal government and Medicare Part D premiums are set by participating providers. |
 Prescription Drug Plan (PDP) |
| A CMS-approved plan that provides outpatient prescription drug coverage to beneficiaries of Original (fee-for-service) Medicare (i.e., Parts A and B). |
| Referral |
| A written authorization from a primary care physician in a Medicare managed care plan to see a specialist or receive certain diagnostic or health care services. If a plan participant does not receive a proper referral, their plan may not pay for their care. |
| State Health Insurance Program (SHIP) |
| State-operated program that provides free local health insurance counseling for Medicare beneficiaries and others with questions about senior health insurance. |
| True-Out-of-Pocket-Spending-Medicare |
| The amount that Medicare beneficiaries must pay out of pocket in order to be eligible for catastrophic coverage under Part D of Medicare. The Medicare PDP premium does not count towards the TrOOP amount. In 2006, the TrOOP limit for Part D is $3,600, calculated as follows: $250 deductible, 25% of expenses from $251 to $2,250 or $500, and $2,850 of uncovered "doughnut hole" expenses ( $250 + $500 + $2,850 = $3,600). |
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