Choosing a Medicare Drug Plan

SeaBreeze

Endlessly Groovin'
Location
USA
Some info about choosing a Medicare drug plan...http://seniorjournal.com/NEWS/Medic...Medicare-Drug-Plan-May-Help-Meet-Deadline.htm

There are 2 ways to get Medicare prescription drug coverage. ● You can join a Medicare Prescription Drug Plan and keep your health coverage under Original Medicare.

● Or, you can join a Medicare Advantage Plan (like an HMO or PPO) that includes Medicare drug coverage and get your Medicare benefits through a private insurance company.

Whichever you choose, prescription drug coverage can vary by cost, coverage, convenience, and quality. Some of these things might be more important to you than others, depending on your situation and prescription drug needs.

No matter which type of Medicare drug plan you join, your plan will send you information about plan changes each fall. You should review your prescription drug needs and compare Medicare drug plans during Medicare Open Enrollment. You can make changes to your coverage October 15 and through December 7.
 

Join a drug plan when you become 65 if you need it or not!! My wife and I did not join a plan at 65 as we had good health and no drugs needed..That changed when we became 68 and we needed a drug plan, well we have to pay a higher premium due to the fact that we did not join at 65!!! They never told us this!!
 
If you are a Veteran you can do well there. I have a drug plan as well. I signed up for some reason, which I forget. I do get a few things from using it, like antibiotics, just to get some of my money back, but get most of my stuff at the VA.
 

Just got my Drug Plan from Humana. Cost $15.70 per month and will be paying considerably less every 3 months that I am thru the VA Pharmacy. My prescriptions are not costly like some. I will pay $23 every 3 months for the prescriptions I need. I have Florida Blue for my Medicare Supplement Plan.

I also have VA, but a doctor who is contracted thru Medicare can NOT prescribe meds thru the VA Pharmacy. I will not be using the VA anymore, b/c I will be paying monthly premiums for Medicare B, Florida Blue Supplement and my Humana Drug Plan.

IOW, Medicare and the VA are completely separate..........they don't work together at all. At least that's what I've read and been told.
 
Just got my Drug Plan from Humana. Cost $15.70 per month and will be paying considerably less every 3 months that I am thru the VA Pharmacy. My prescriptions are not costly like some. I will pay $23 every 3 months for the prescriptions I need. I have Florida Blue for my Medicare Supplement Plan.

I also have VA, but a doctor who is contracted thru Medicare can NOT prescribe meds thru the VA Pharmacy. I will not be using the VA anymore, b/c I will be paying monthly premiums for Medicare B, Florida Blue Supplement and my Humana Drug Plan.

IOW, Medicare and the VA are completely separate..........they don't work together at all. At least that's what I've read and been told.
++


Everything you said is correct. One of the issues that I never got over was with supplements, prices you pay are different, not only at different pharmacies, but at the same pharmacies. For example; I went to Walgreens in Florida and had a script filled and it cost me $8.00 with using my Plan D. Then, I cam back to PA and had the script refilled at a Walgreens and it cost me $12.00. Why? I asked Walgreens and called their main office and got three different answers, none of which made any sense.
 
I'm going to take a stab at your different pricing for the same medication. As with everything in this country, pricing is regional . . . there are different overheads for each of the stores and can vary between neighboring towns. I believe that the basic price is the same, but the difference you're seeing is the overhead (higher property taxes, higher state taxes, etc.).
 

Back
Top