### Human:\ni've been on medication since 2000 for my multiple sclerosis. this year in april i fell into the doughnut hole. . my medicine cost went up extraordinarily high from $27. 50 last year to $55 in january $144 in april and each month it was starting to go go higher. it came to the point i was no longer going to be able to afford my medication so i called around and found some help with my medicine through the chronic disease fund. why after all of these years is this happening to me?\n\n### Assistant: when you enter the part d prescription-drug "doughnut hole " you pay a higher percentage of your drug costs. the doughnut hole starts once you and your plan have paid a total of $2 970 toward your medication costs. this year you do receive a discount of 52. 5% on covered brand-name drugs and 21% off generics until you've reached the end of the coverage gap ($4 750). that's when catastrophic coverage kicks in. you might want to also look into medicare extra help which helps pay drug costs for people with low incomes.