The infamous “doughnut hole” gap in Medicare prescription coverage — which requires beneficiaries to pay 100 percent of medication costs after they’ve used up their initial coverage but haven’t yet hit a “catastrophic” level — is closing under the new health care reform law.

That’s the good news.

The not-so-good news: Although there is some immediate relief, it will be a decade before the hole closes for good.

Under the new law, seniors will receive a one-time $250 rebate when they reach the doughnut hole level this year. In 2011 brand-name drugs will be discounted 50 percent during the doughnut hole period, and in 2013 there is a provision for an additional federal subsidy of 25 percent on brand-name drugs.

But with drug costs going up between 8 percent and 10 percent annually, the benefit loses some of its punch for those on Medicare now, which includes nearly 400,000 Pennsylvanians.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10143/1059965-28.stm#ixzz0orDNhgGF