Access Part D prescriptions with the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan (M3P)

Laura Cave, Editor At Large, Paytient – Managing rare and chronic disease often comes with prescriptions and their costs—and for too many those costs can become a barrier to quality of life. However, in a recent survey of Medicare Prescription Payment Plan participants, 68% said the M3P program helped them afford their prescription medications.

Here are a few ways participating in the M3P program can help with prescription costs when you have a rare disease or chronic condition.

If you were recently hospitalized:

You may have had to pause your medications during a procedure, or you may have been prescribed new, short-term medications to help with your recovery. These can create changes to your normal prescription refill schedule or add new costs that you weren’t expecting in your budget. If you are opted into M3P, you can get your meds whenever you need them from the pharmacy with $0 due at point of service. Your Medicare prescription drug plan will bill you later for those charges spread out over the remainder of the calendar year.

If you are prescribed an expensive brand drug:

Many brand-name medications are never picked up at the pharmacy because of their upfront cost. If you have Medicare coverage for prescriptions, the most you can pay out of pocket over the course of the year is $2,000 in 2025. But for many people, the first fill is still unaffordable. When you are opted into M3P, you can start the medication for $0 and pay what you owe out of pocket in smaller monthly installments over the rest of the calendar year.

If you’re taking a lot of different prescriptions:

If you have several prescriptions that you’re taking, you may be using MedSync for the convenience of being able to pick up all your medications at the pharmacy on the same day of the month. However, this can mean a much bigger bill on that day. One way to make that easier is to enroll in M3P so that you can pick up your prescriptions for $0 and pay for them via a monthly statement from your plan. This will give you the flexibility to make those payments on a day of your choosing, ideally after pay day. If you take a 90-day supply, you’ll also be able to pay for that in monthly installments.

A few things to keep in mind when participating in M3P:

Your first payment may be higher than subsequent payments because there is a monthly out-of-pocket maximum for the first month you’re opted in.
All Part D prescriptions you fill will be billed together by your plan on a single invoice. As you fill more prescriptions, those costs are added to your monthly invoice. You’ll always pay $0 at the pharmacy.
If you’d like to pay ahead and settle your remaining balance due, you can do that at any time. There’s no obligation to pay only the amount billed on your invoice.
You may see higher monthly invoices in October through December if you add monthly prescriptions all year and don’t reach your out-of-pocket maximum. If you want to stay ahead of this, consider paying more than the minimum balance due on each monthly invoice so costs don’t pile up in December.
Only drugs covered by your Medicare plan under Part D are included in the M3P program. Any Part B drugs or not covered drugs will not be billed under M3P.

There are many different reasons to use M3P for easier access to prescription drugs. Some use it for the convenience of choosing their billing date, others start using it to spread their costs, especially if a brand name drug means you’ll meet your out-of-pocket maximum early in the year.

To learn more about the M3P program and opt in, contact the plan that provides your prescription drug coverage or visit GetMyMeds.com, a free resource that serves all plans.

For more information and resources related to understanding and navigating the MP3 program, visit Accessia Health’s MP3 FAQ blog.

Disclaimer: The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this blog post belong solely to the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Accessia Health.