Anyone have Part D with high deductible, to lower cost?

Kaila

Kaila

SF VIP
I know that many of you do not have any Medicare Part D, and do not need one.

Those of you who have Medicare Advantage plans (Part C) or other types of broad medical insurance,
do not need any Part D, for drug coverage;

But for people who have traditional Medicare, with or without a separate Medigap (Companion) plan;
in order to have any coverage for most medications, one must purchase a stand-alone Part D.

The prices increase every year, so one way to avoid high monthly premium costs, would be to opt to have a yearly deductible, like many other types of insurance,
rather than one of the no-deductible Part D plans.

Does anyone have one of those?
 

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Thank you for the reply, @perplexed (y)
Would you share which company, if you feel comfortable doing that?
Did you have the choice between levels for your deductible, or do they have just one standard deductible with corresponding premium?
 

Your welcome!Sure we have wellcare value script, no they set the deductible and like I said it it going up AGAIN in 2023. Just be careful if your meds are in the upper tiers I think 3 and up is when the deductible starts. We were fine until my husband needed an eye med and well we had to meet the deductable on that one. (very hard) It is a game of chance KWIM?If I can help you further just ask .
 
perplexed said:
Your welcome!Sure we have wellcare value script, no they set the deductible and like I said it it going up AGAIN in 2023. Just be careful if your meds are in the upper tiers I think 3 and up is when the deductible starts. We were fine until my husband needed an eye med and well we had to meet the deductable on that one. (very hard) It is a game of chance KWIM?If I can help you further just ask .
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Thank you very much for your friendly post and your helpful info.
I have, honestly, felt very perplexed on this subject!☺️🤣😆😁

Do you have to get your prescriptions from one designated pharmacy, or can you choose?
 
Policy offerings are so different from state to state. My deductible will be about $500 next year. I have not yet checked the Medicare site to go over my options. It will be easier to choose once I input my prescriptions and see the results from the different companies.

One thing I have done is not use insurance for one of my eyedrops. Insurance cost over $600 for one little bottle. GoodRx cost about $58.00, same drug, same pharmacies.

What burns me is that this is a Generic drug which I have been on for twenty years. It's so popular and the drug companies are gouging people due to its main drug use for so many people-there are no alternatives, so no competition.

I used to pay less than $5.00 per larger bottle, but generics don't always mean they are cheaper.

If you have the option to look at GoodRx and others like them, price your prescriptions and see if that will affect your insurance choice.

I will probably look at the Medicare site next week, instead of leaving it until two days before the cutoff! :unsure:
 
Kaila said:
Thank you very much for your friendly post and your helpful info.
I have, honestly, felt very perplexed on this subject!☺️🤣😆😁

Do you have to get your prescriptions from one designated pharmacy, or can you choose?
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We are all perplexeds at times lol lol ,Part D and medicare can be a bit overwhelming on our plan you can choose I think on all plans you can choose as far as I know . Make sure you choose a preferred pharmacy preferred by your plan it may make what you pay for your meds cheaper.

Just a thought try good Rx even if you get a part D. I find that on some meds are cheaper on Good Rx (I use a coupon there and take to pharmacy) is cheaper than our part d co pay.If I can help you further just ask.
 
Owlivia said:
Policy offerings are so different from state to state. My deductible will be about $500 next year. I have not yet checked the Medicare site to go over my options. It will be easier to choose once I input my prescriptions and see the results from the different companies.

One thing I have done is not use insurance for one of my eyedrops. Insurance cost over $600 for one little bottle. GoodRx cost about $58.00, same drug, same pharmacies.

What burns me is that this is a Generic drug which I have been on for twenty years. It's so popular and the drug companies are gouging people due to its main drug use for so many people-there are no alternatives, so no competition.

I used to pay less than $5.00 per larger bottle, but generics don't always mean they are cheaper.

If you have the option to look at GoodRx and others like them, price your prescriptions and see if that will affect your insurance choice.

I will probably look at the Medicare site next week, instead of leaving it until two days before the cutoff! :unsure:
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We have saved thousands of dollars by using Canadian pharmacies instead of paying for U.S. distributors. It makes no sense to use Part D to get $10. off a $1,200 prescription when it can shipped for $50!
 
perplexed said:
We are all perplexeds at times lol lol ,Part D and medicare can be a bit overwhelming on our plan you can choose I think on all plans you can choose as far as I know . Make sure you choose a preferred pharmacy preferred by your plan it may make what you pay for your meds cheaper.

Just a thought try good Rx even if you get a part D. I find that on some meds are cheaper on Good Rx (I use a coupon there and take to pharmacy) is cheaper than our part d co pay.If I can help you further just ask.
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So far I have found Part D to be nothing more than a ripoff. I pay for it and an AARP supplemental and can always find cheaper options elsewhere. I am thinking of dropping it.
 
Alligatorob said:
So far I have found Part D to be nothing more than a ripoff. I pay for it and an AARP supplemental and can always find cheaper options elsewhere. I am thinking of dropping it.
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I have to agree part d was not thought out too well, it certainly does not pay too well on the upper tiers and if you buy the lower costs part d's and need the upper tier meds your forced to pay that high deductible but it is a catch 22 because we either get one if we are on medicare and if I am not mistaken if we don't get a part d in a certain time frame and get one later there is a penalty for life. If one of you knows different please correct me.
 
When I called the insurance company to find out the price of the prescription (their website was wonky and not working well) the rep told me the price was even more than indicated, it was over $600 for a little 5ml bottle.

She tried to convince me that I should use the insurance as that would cover my deductible for the year, around 450(?) at that time.

I told her after I bought all my prescriptions and refills for the year I wouldn't reach 450, let alone 600, she couldn't get my logic.

I have used GoodRx for this prescription for a few years now, about 56 per 5 ml bottle.
 
We were told that Good RX excludes people with government insurance. The pharmacist refused to allow us to just use their card so we had to find other alternatives.
 
Alligatorob said:
Are there any consequences to just dropping part D? Could you get it back some time in the future if the need arises?
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This is a very important question; I don't know the answer, but I think you can get it back. IF you unenroll during the open time.
I have been trying to research it.
So far, I can only see for sure, in the policy information, that if we go without any part d for over 63 days, then we can't get it back immediately and there is some penalty for the interruption, but I see nothing about any huge penalty or repercussion, or that we cannot get one after that.
I will continue to research on it, and if others have the answer and a good source, then please let the rest of us know.
Part D has not turned out to be as helpful as I thought it would be, either. Might not be worth the money for many of us, I don't know for sure, myself.
My thanks to every one of you who are adding to this thread, for all of us to consider the options.
 
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perplexed said:
if I am not mistaken if we don't get a part d in a certain time frame and get one later there is a penalty for life. If one of you knows different please correct me.
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I dont know the answer, but I did not have any Part D for several years while first on Medicare, and then I got one. Had no trouble with that. But that could possibly be because I might have been covered by some other type of limited drug plan that excused me from the penalty fee, that I didn't even know existed.o_O:rolleyes:

I dont think there is any longterm or life penalty, for dropping it, but I hope that I or someone else can find more definite info on this aspect, to help all of us with our individual decisions.

If you just want to drop your current Part D, and not replace it at this time,
then you ARE required to go thru the steps to do that. Such as write a signed request to your company to end it, or call them.

If you just stopped paying, without un-enrolling, that is not allowed, and might result in some significant consequences.

Because if you are in a Plan Part D now, and you do nothing, it automatically renews, and you are supposed to be in it and pay the premiums till next years open enrollment period.
 
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If you enroll in a new-to-you Part D,
then you do not have to go thru any other steps to end your current one, if I understand correctly what I have read in multiple sources, including Medicare.gov
 
Alligatorob said:
I pay for it and an AARP supplemental and can always find cheaper options elsewhere. I am thinking of dropping it.
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You find the Supplement Plan not helpful as well?
I assume you mean the Medigap Plan, that they used to call Medicare Supplement, to help pay for deductibles and co-pays for Medicare covered services.
Did you find that, not worth the monthly premiums as well?
 
Kaila said:
You find the Supplement Plan not helpful as well?
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Only the prescription drug one, part D. The supplemental part B plan is fine. I have separate AARP plans. Only considering dropping the drug plan. Just like Medicare part D I have been paying for the supplemental for a few years and gotten nothing out of it. Always cheaper to get the prescription drugs another way.
 
While researching today, I found info that there IS a penalty fee, permanently added to your monthly premiums for Part D,
if you do not take ANY Part D plan when you are first eligible for one. (Unless you have some other type of ongoing drug coverage at that time)

It is a percentage of the base premium levels multiplied by the # of months you did not have any drug coverage.
In some case, might not a large amount, but will be added to your part d premiums forevermore.

~~~~
I still do not know for sure,
but this same penalty fee MIGHT likely also be applied,
if you drop your Part d, without enrolling in a different Part D plan, and then have none for over 2 months.

Therefore, it seems to me, that if you have one now, and want to drop it, but might possibly want to get one in the future (or get that one back)
then it is best to enroll in a different Plan D, instead of dropping it altogether.
Then you could change plans every year, during the mid.Oct-early Dec. open enrollment period.

There are cheap ones you could switch to, instead of simply dropping yours.

@Alligatorob @perplexed @Owlivia

I hope this helps, too!:geek:☺️:)
 
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I'm with Kaiser-Permanente. Part D is included in my plan. There is no extra cost; no deductible and rarely a co-pay.

Actually, there's no cost to me, period. Not for the supplement, not for Part D. Medicare Advantage.
 
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