Vocabulary Lesson: Donut Hole

In the pastry world, donught holes are the delicious round sphere cut out of the donught. They are deliciously sold by Dunkin' Donuts as Munchkins.

In Medicare land, the Donut Hole is more commonly known as Medicare Part D coverage gap. I could distill this into something coherent, but at the risk of getting it wrong, I'll let Wikipedia explain:

The Medicare Part D coverage gap — informally known as the Medicare donut hole — is the difference of the initial coverage limit and the catastrophic coverage threshold, as described in the Medicare Part D prescription drug program administered by the United States federal government. After a Medicare beneficiary surpasses the prescription drug coverage limit, the Medicare beneficiary is financially responsible for the entire cost of prescription drugs until the expense reaches the catastrophic coverage threshold.

I'm assuming that if you're on Medicare and this affects you, you're already familiar with donut hole. For those of us, Young and Old, who aren't, now those commercials that aired last month make some sense.

Anyone else need a munchkin about now?

Additional Resources:
Medicare Part D coverage gap, Wikipedia
Munchkins, Funtrivia.com