[Avista]

We have Medicare part D and it has sure gone up in price. (Well Care Signature) We paid $30.10 in 2010 and will pay $48.30 in 2011. We want to stay with our Original Medical and Supplement, but find this Part D very high. I only take 3 generics and may be better just to drop the insurance.

Anyone have any advise?

[brostholder]

Originally Posted by Avista

We have Medicare part D and it has sure gone up in price. We paid $30.10 in 2010 and will pay $48.30 in 2011. We want to stay with our Original Medical and Supplement, but find this Part D very high. I only take 3 generics and may be better just to drop the insurance.

Anyone have any advise?

As a pharmacist, I would not advise dropping the insurance because you never know what drug you may need tomorrow. But it certainly seems that $48/month is kind of steep for taking 3 generics that very well may be only $4 each at Walmart. I would recommend going to www.medicare.gov. This site lets you pick the part d plan that best suits your prescription needs. Also, many pharmacies have representatives that will do this for you if navigating the government website is too complicated for you.
Barry

[Mudder]

Our generics are free, but maybe you prefer not to have a plan such as ours, we are with Preferred Care. Maybe tho it is time to look into other plans.There is an independent Medicare advisor who can explain all companies and plans and help you decide which is best for you. Her name is Simone Castello, phone 352-735-8055. She will come to your house, she also does numerous seminars in TV, check the Daily Sun. We moved here in the middle of a serious medical issue, she was very good at determing what the best course of action was for us.

[Avista]

We pay no co-pay on our drugs either through Well Care. It is just that $48.30 seems very steep.

[cybrgeezer]

This is slightly off the subject, but since someone opened the Medicare bag, here goes:

I am just about to turn 65 (in November) and will lose my employer's insurance Jan. 1 due to hours reduction, so I am looking at various Medicare plans.

I am sure many of you have studied this and can give me an answer to this question -- if you considered a Medicare Advantage plan with little or no premium and an included Part D and decided to go with a regular supplement+D, how did you make that decision?

The advantage plan I'm looking at has a $0 premium and all my doctors plus several local hospitals accept it. What would convince me to go with a regular supplement plan?

Again, I am sure you (some of you, at least) have faced this and come to the decision best for you. I'd really like some input.

As for personal information that matters here, I am single and taking several medications, so a Part D (included or separate) is important. My overall health is good and I have not been an inpatient in a hospital since 1986. I am active in cycling and other activities and have used emergency rooms several times, the most recent 10 years ago. Any of this factor in?

Thanks for any help.

[Mikitv]

I just started Part D few months ago and have only one 3 medicines not generic but have a plan called Envision RX Plus and my premium is 26.00 per month with 300 deductilbe. So far I've used them only to fill 3 of my prescriptions and no problems.

[Mikitv]

oops

[Avista]

Originally Posted by cybrgeezer

This is slightly off the subject, but since someone opened the Medicare bag, here goes:

I am just about to turn 65 (in November) and will lose my employer's insurance Jan. 1 due to hours reduction, so I am looking at various Medicare plans.

I am sure many of you have studied this and can give me an answer to this question -- if you considered a Medicare Advantage plan with little or no premium and an included Part D and decided to go with a regular supplement+D, how did you make that decision?


The advantage plan I'm looking at has a $0 premium and all my doctors plus several local hospitals accept it. What would convince me to go with a regular supplement plan?

Again, I am sure you (some of you, at least) have faced this and come to the decision best for you. I'd really like some input.

As for personal information that matters here, I am single and taking several medications, so a Part D (included or separate) is important. My overall health is good and I have not been an inpatient in a hospital since 1986. I am active in cycling and other activities and have used emergency rooms several times, the most recent 10 years ago. Any of this factor in?

Thanks for any help.

We decided to go with Original Medicare and Supplement (C) through AARP. Since being on Medicare, I have had 3 unexpected surgeries and hospital stays. I did not pay a penny for these. I pay nothing when I visit a doctor and can go to anyone I please. I had my breast cancer treated at MOffitt Cancer Center in Tampa 7 years ago. Still go for a checkup there once a year. Didn't want a plan that wouldn't allow me to go to Moffitt in Tampa. If my husband or I needed a specialist in another part of the country, I wanted to be able to have it covered.

[2BNTV]

Originally Posted by cybrgeezer

This is slightly off the subject, but since someone opened the Medicare bag, here goes:

I am just about to turn 65 (in November) and will lose my employer's insurance Jan. 1 due to hours reduction, so I am looking at various Medicare plans.

I am sure many of you have studied this and can give me an answer to this question -- if you considered a Medicare Advantage plan with little or no premium and an included Part D and decided to go with a regular supplement+D, how did you make that decision?

The advantage plan I'm looking at has a $0 premium and all my doctors plus several local hospitals accept it. What would convince me to go with a regular supplement plan?

Again, I am sure you (some of you, at least) have faced this and come to the decision best for you. I'd really like some input.

As for personal information that matters here, I am single and taking several medications, so a Part D (included or separate) is important. My overall health is good and I have not been an inpatient in a hospital since 1986. I am active in cycling and other activities and have used emergency rooms several times, the most recent 10 years ago. Any of this factor in?

Thanks for any help.

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Cybrgeezer,

As an independent agent who offers both the Medicare Supplements (AARP), and three of the Medicare Advantage companies, there is no right answer to your question of whether an Advantage plan with $0 premium is the best way to go, or whether there is a convincing argument to go with a Med Supp. It's a matter of your risk tolerance, and peace of mind. The lady who went with the AARP Med Supp wanted to be able to go to any doctor anywhere in the country without having to pay hospital or doctor copays-Peace of mind, no risk. If you stay relatively healthy you will save money with the Medicare Advantage plans. It is important that your doctors (and future Specialists) and The Villages Hospital be in their network (As well as Leesburg and Ocala Hospitals). There are now maximum out of pocket limits in all Medicare Advantage plans this year, so with a catastrophic health event the most you will have to pay out of pocket per year varies from $3500 to $6700 depending on the plan. Hope this helps a litte. If you would like anymore informaton please send me a private message.
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Cybergeezer;

The above is an excellent answer but one has to consider their family's history of health problems and try to gaze in their crystal ball to figure out for themselves what plan is best for them. If a person expects they will stay in excellent health for many years, the Medicare Complete Plan through AARP Secure Horizon's is a good choice. The Medicare Complete program is geared toward "preventive medicine" type situations. The OOP Expense Max for 2011 is $44oo and catastrophic coverage is $8800. It depends on one's resources whether they afford to absorb this loss if one does get sick.
Going forward, if one decides they will need frequent medical treatment for ailments, they will need the original Medicare plus part D and a Supplemental plan to cover almost all OOP cost. Supplemental Plans cost more in premiums but are geared more towards people who require seeing a doctor on a regular basis and needs to be hospitalized periodically and don't want to absorb these costs or want to have peace of mind for catastrophic coverage.
One can switch from year to year but as we get older, the premiums will be higher for the supplemental type plan.
A friend of mine had paid the supplemental for many years and bemoaned the fact that it was costing her a small fortune in premiums. She switched her and her husband to Medicare Complete to not pay the difference in premiums and shortly thereafter, her husband developed a severe problem that required going to many doctors and hospitals. She switched at the wrong time in her opinion.
IMHO – I am in excellent health and chose the Medicare Complete from AARP. There are many options and I know my head was spinning thinking of what plan was best for me. One has to take an educated guess and hope their decision will turn out to be correct for them.

There is no clear cut answer because one never knows their future health.

I wish you the best of luck with your choice.

[Avista]

Originally Posted by Mikitv

I just started Part D few months ago and have only one 3 medicines not generic but have a plan called Envision RX Plus and my premium is 26.00 per month with 300 deductilbe. So far I've used them only to fill 3 of my prescriptions and no problems.

Before you sign up next year you might want to run the figures on Wellcare signature plan and Envision RX Plus and see where you come out ahead. Although I was complaining of paying $48.80/ month for 2011, after talking to a number of companies, this is still the least expensive for me. I take 3 generic drugs. Other than the $48.80/month, I have NO deductible and NO co-pay for my generics. In other works $48.80 is all I pay.

I would be interested in what your figures show. It is possible your plan is better than mine.

[cybrgeezer]

2B:

Thanks for the detailed answer.

[2BNTV]

Originally Posted by cybrgeezer

2B:

Thanks for the detailed answer.

cybergeezer:

Your welcome.

Some additional information;
1. When I signed-up in May/2010, I decided to drop my employer sponsored group plan as Medicare Complete was better, except that it doesn't pay anything towards the first days in a hospital. I had no plans for being hospitalized and I haven't been hospitalized for many years, (knock on wood),except for a preventive procedure that is now done in a doctor offiice setting. Paid $700 for this procedure under employer insurance and is now covered under Mediacre Complete/2011 at no costs. I just have doctor visits for preventive measures that required a deductible, (slightly higher deductible than employee plan but employee pan was a higher premium). I wound up slightly ahead in that it was a little better coverage for less money.
2. I live in CT and was informed they have coverage for TV area when I am able to move.
3. You can go to any specialists without a referral from the PCP. Please verify the doctors you want are in the plan.
4. My thinking is such that if one doesn't need to go the hospital for several years, the cost of paying for a supplemantal type plan would be offset by the OOP costs incurred for one hospitalization, (max OOP). Break even point. Please crunch the numbers to verify because I haven't checked this since I joined Medicare Complete. Risk tolerance is also a factor in this type of scenario.
5. The downside is that if one does not sign-up for a supplemental plan when first eligible, your rates will be increased as you get older and want to change, (please verify for yourself). I don't think AARP or any plan can say what that increase will be. It also depends on if one can afford whatever the increase will be at a later date.
6. One side of the coin says that it is throwing away money on insurance you don't need as I am healthy and the other side is saying, I will save a lot of money on medical costs if I get sick. Only you can make that choice.

I've had several conversation with the folks at AARP about what plan is best for me and found they were very informative. I tried to envision all kinds of scenarios but who knows what lies ahead concerning our health. Some people look at insurance as a necessary evil. Resent paying it whan they don't have to and glad they have when something goes awry.

This is the best I can do off the top of my head as I would have to go back and revisit my research notes.

My hope is your decision will be perfect for you.

Only you can decide what's best for you.

[GatorFan]

www.medicare.gov allows you to enter your medicines to compare all the Medicare Part D drug plans available to you. If you do not have access to a computer, you may call 800-MEDICARE 24 hours a day/7 days a week. When you speak to a Medicare customer service representative, have your red, white and blue Medicare card handy. Have your medicines handy. The customer service representative will run and drug comparison for you over the phone.

[Floridagal]

From all the drugs plans I checked Envisions RX PlusSilver worked for me. The bottom line to look for is how much it will cost at a local pharmacy and the cost for mailaway. Check these two costs on all the ones you are interested and see the difference and which way to go. My doctor just put me on a new drug today and because of that only two or three plans came up and Evision was the cheapest at the bottom lines. My husband's pills are all generic so he is going with WellCare and that is the only one he has been using since he went on Medicare. Some of my drugs are not covered under his plan and they are not generic. He never had a problem with getting drugs.

All I can say it is not so easy picking out a drug plan. I printed so many papers now I have to get paper and more ink.

My next big problem is picking out a health package. I haven't gotten the package from the one I have now. but looking in case they raise is out of sight.