DEERFIELD, Ill. — With this year’s Medicare Part D registration period overlapping with open enrollment for the new health insurance marketplaces, Walgreen Co. has recognized a growing need to help Medicare beneficiaries understand their drug coverage options.

With Part D enrollment opening October 15, Walgreens pharmacists are offering free, personalized prescription drug plan comparison reports chainwide.

The reports detail each plan’s estimated annual costs, including monthly premiums, brand and generic co-pays and drugs covered through the coverage gap (donut hole). Pharmacists will review reports to help beneficiaries understand their coverage options, as well as the latest information on Medicare, whether they’re selecting a plan for the first time or evaluating if their current plan is still their best option. Plan reviews will be available on a walk-in basis or by scheduling an appointment at www.walgreens.com/medicare.

Walgreens is a part of Medicare preferred pharmacy networks with four national Part D plan sponsors: Coventry Health Care, Humana, UnitedHealthcare and WellCare. The preferred networks are designed to offer Medicare beneficiaries additional options to save on prescription drugs.

Cost savings remains top of mind for many Medicare beneficiaries, as more than one-third of those surveyed (37%) are concerned about drug costs, and one in five say they’ve made sacrifices, such as delaying filling a prescription or skipping doses to help manage medication costs.

"Many Medicare beneficiaries don’t fully understand certain aspects of their health plan, including cost savings options, and some also become nonadherent to medication therapies as a way to try to reduce costs," said Suzanne Hansen, Walgreens group vice president of pharmacy operations. "The Medicare environment can be challenging to navigate, and we anticipate an even greater need to help educate our customers this year, given the changes that are taking place across the health care landscape. Walgreens, as a preferred network provider, offers a number of benefits, which may include savings of up to 75% on prescription co-pays, and our pharmacists are trusted experts who can help beneficiaries understand their plan options."

Walgreens is in the networks of hundreds of other Medicare prescription drug plans for 2014, in addition to participating in the national preferred pharmacy networks.