Medicare Part D: Yes or No, and why or why not?

I have Part D. My feeling on insurance is the more I buy the less I will need it; which is GREAT!
 

Is Medicare Part D better than Humana Walmart? We currently have Humana Walmart and it really seems like they pay very little for any prescription either of us need. For my upcoming, when wife and I decide the date, cataract surgery, Humana Walmart will pay very little for the eye drops I will need after the surgery. Three different eye drops and each will cost us around $400 or so. We checked and Humana Walmart will pay almost nothing.

I get all of my prescriptions from the VA and my wife gets her Metformin free from a local grocery store pharmacy.

We REALLY need help with this to know if we should stop our drug plan with Humana and go with something else, like Medicare D.
 
Humana Walmart is just ONE of the Part D plans someone can choose. Each company and plan offers different benefits. The Walmart plan is generally the lowest priced and does a decent job with generics but has (along with many others) a $405 deductible for brand name medications.

I just had one cataract done last week with another next week. And yes, the drops are expensive. If you can put it off until next year you can choose a more appropriate plan for your needs.

You can also give me a call and I'll be happy to discuss the options you might not know you have even now.

Rick
 

Ken N Tx said:
Join Part D!!!!! I was like you and did not take any drugs, paying for it not about $53 a month!!!!
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Years ago, we went that route because we had "advice" from a so-called Medicare specialist. At the time, neither one of us took any kind of meds so we figured it was a good deal. Then a couple years later, my husband had a very serious fall from a ladder and shattered his left ankle. He had 4 surgeries within 10 weeks and had to get blood thinner shots in his stomach at $400 a shot, had pain meds, had numerous antibiotics, etc., etc......you get the picture. Since we didn't have drug coverage, the hospital had a "program" that we were eligible for and it saved us some money but that was an expensive lesson.

That October (his accident happened in June), we signed up with Humana for $0/month that had a Rx plan. We got a letter from Medicare that we had the option to have Humana collect the penalty or have it taken out of our SS. We will be paying this penalty forever. It would have been better if we would have had a plan that included RX coverage, but we did know any better at the time.

We got bad advice and hope, just because you don't need RX coverage now, if in the future something comes along, you don't get caught paying a bigger price. Just my FYI.
 
Understand that you now have a Medicare Advantage plan that includes Part D. You may have saved money but be aware you may have issues finding a doctor and/or have higher than expected costs for hospitalization.

I'm not knocking MA plans but if $0 premium is the motivating factor rather than your access to providers than it may be money not well saved.

Rick
 
I did not have prescription coverage at one point about 2 yrs. ago (was about 63 then) instead of opting for part d, I have the Magellan r x plan..I am on 9 different medications and it it very affordable, even when I get refills..cos`ts about the same thing you found...good luck dude
 
In recent month Pres Trump was complaining about how those European and others could get the same medicines for a few dollars where in the US pays big bucks. I would think that the cost should be close to the same no matter where. In order to design and develop new drugs or methods is likely to cost millions of dollars and and take years to do. That cost must be share by all who choose these new products.

So how do some countries happen to have fractions of cost for the buyer.

I hope Trump finds out and announces his findings soon.
 
BobF said:
So how do some countries happen to have fractions of cost for the buyer..
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For openers...consider this. The Only two nations which allow the broadcasting of all these endless "Ask your Doctor" TV commercials are the U.S. and New Zealand. The drug companies spend billions of dollars every year on this propaganda, and guess who winds up paying for it??? Those who are trapped into having to take these chemicals are paying for all these ads. The people in the rest of the nations don't have to "subsidize" this nonsense. However, getting our government to do likewise may be wishful thinking, give the huge amounts of money these drug companies donate to the politicians...which, again, comes out of the pockets of those taking the drugs.
 
I cancelled Medicare Part D because it was a waste of money for me. I use Goodrx for all my prescriptions and I save a ton of money.
 
Researchqueen said:
I cancelled Medicare Part D because it was a waste of money for me. I use Goodrx for all my prescriptions and I save a ton of money.
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Have you read the consequences of re-enrolling if you would be struck with an unforeseen illness or, Heaven forbid, cancer?? You would not be allowed to re-enroll until the enrollment period is in effect...plus you would be charged a penalty for every month you did not have coverage.

I understand the reason you've opted out, but consider having a plan that Part D doesn't cost a monthly fee. We have Humana HMO and don't have a monthly charge. I don't mind paying $10 IF I need to see my doctor or $50 for a specialist. I take a BP pill that costs me $9 every 3 months.

We were advised (unwisely) several years ago to not take Part D because we didn't have any meds to speak of. Then my husband had a disastrous fall that shattered his ankle. He had to have blood thinner shots in his stomach for weeks so he wouldn't get blood clots. Each shot cost $400. If it wouldn't have been for the hospital working with a special program that assisted seniors like us, we'd still be paying for those shots. He had tons of antibiotic and all that came out of our pocket. There was a lot more, but you get the idea. We have had Part D ever since. My husband is too accident prone to not have it. We also get charged a penalty for all that time we didn't have it.

It's just not worth the risk.
 
Researchqueen said:
I cancelled Medicare Part D because it was a waste of money for me. I use Goodrx for all my prescriptions and I save a ton of money.
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Maybe you've saved money. Most of my clients have plans for around $20/mo and tier 1 generics are generally zero copay.

Rarely will they be "upside down" vs going without insurance.

While this is always a personal choice the risk is not worth the few dollars of savings.

Rick
 
mathjak107 said:
double check on that . medigap typically does not cover part d , advantage plans do but not medigap plans
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An employer "medigap" plan most likely is a PPO which will include Rx. And since there is a copay I'd be willing to bet this is exactly the plan.

When I talk with people about insurance I get a lot of "I have a secondary" when they really have an advantage plan (typically HMO) or "I have a PPO" when they actually have a Medicare supplement.

Rick
 
My MIL's cancer drug was about $3000 a month, thankfully she had Part D.

It only takes one serious illness to drain a person's retirement savings.
 

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