Three Star

For those of you not familiar with Medicare drug coverage, it covers most of the first $3,000 of drug costs per year. After that, it pays nothing (the "doughnut hole") until your drug costs exceed $6150. It pays most of the remaining as catastrophic coverage.

There's an art to choosing a prescription plan to smooth out or minimize the impact of the hole. It depends on the drugs you expect to be taking, where you live, and sometimes your overall income. Calculators like this one newly published by the AARP can help you pick the right plan.

For further information and free help, contact your state's SHIBA or SHIP office. Oregon's office is here.