Community Chat

[CelticCrafter]

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@monicakm wrote:

@Carmie 

We don't have a Medicare prescription plan but we get good discounts from our pharmacy.  For example, DH just had his blood pressure medication refilled.  He takes Telmisartan.  With either a GoodRx price or whatever Walgreens uses for a discount, it was $41 for a 90 day supply.  It was $188 before the discount.  They will run it thru a few programs to find the best price.  I don't know if many people take advantage of this.  I don't hear many talk about it.

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@monicakm you do realize that if you ever do need a Part D plan you will be penalized for the rest of your life.  

[deeva]

@monicakm 

Plus, the longer you wait to sign up, the larger the penalty.
That's the only reason I signed up for Part D is because I didn't want to pay the penalty later on. 

[vermint]

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@monicakm wrote:

@vermint 

You are not "entitled" to benefits you have not paid into.

I have never worked and had NO idea when I turned 65 that I was eligible for a SS check based on my husband's work history.  It was a SS agent that told us.  I guess eligible and entitled are two different things.

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@monicakm Exactly! Lots of people are "eligible" for various government benefits who've never paid into them. In your case, your husband did pay in, and that makes you "eligible". Nothing wrong with that!

[Isobel Archer]

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@Trailrun23 wrote:

The WEP was always unfair. 4 million of us worked in states where we were required to pay into both social security and state pension, or in jobs outside of teaching where we paid social security. When we retired, we were only allowed to get 40% of our social security; the premise was that we would be getting such a huge teacher pension that it wasn't fair to also get all our social security. Do you know anyone who is rich on their teacher pension and less than half of their SS?

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Exactly and that alleged "windfall" didn't apply to everyone.  Others with non government pensions got to collect those as well as their full social security.  And a person married several times for at least 10 years each could have each spouse collecting Spousal SS regardless of whether they also had a non gonvernment pension somewhere else (offset).  So if these provisions were meant to be "means tested" they weren't applied to everyone.

[Biftu]

Thanks again Joe for passing the Social Security Fairness Act.

[Isobel Archer]

Thanks to VA Congress member Spanberger for introducing latest version and to all who voted for it!

[tansy]

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@monicakm wrote:

@CelticCrafter 

No I knew nothing about that.

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I don't know the background here, @monicakm, but with our Medicare plan there are many meds we pay 0 for, like cholesterol, blood pressure and antibiotics. 

[tansy]

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@vermint wrote:

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@monicakm wrote:

@vermint 

You are not "entitled" to benefits you have not paid into.

I have never worked and had NO idea when I turned 65 that I was eligible for a SS check based on my husband's work history.  It was a SS agent that told us.  I guess eligible and entitled are two different things.

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@monicakm Exactly! Lots of people are "eligible" for various government benefits who've never paid into them. In your case, your husband did pay in, and that makes you "eligible". Nothing wrong with that!

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If your husband was married for 10 years, she can collect based on his record, too.  It wouldn't change how much the two of you collect, @monicakm.  

[Carmie]

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@monicakm wrote:

@Carmie 

We don't have a Medicare prescription plan but we get good discounts from our pharmacy.  For example, DH just had his blood pressure medication refilled.  He takes Telmisartan.  With either a GoodRx price or whatever Walgreens uses for a discount, it was $41 for a 90 day supply.  It was $188 before the discount.  They will run it thru a few programs to find the best price.  I don't know if many people take advantage of this.  I don't hear many talk about it.

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I would strongly suggest you get a Part D immediately.

You will be charged a penalty every month for the rest of your life if you don't pick it up when first eligible.

My husband and I never used RX drugs, but he went into Afib during cataract surgery.  It has been a nightmare.

He has had three heart procedures to get his heart to bet regularly and he has been prescribed meds.

Eliquis is one expensive drug.  Thank goodness we have insurance.  He can get a three month supply for $126.  The regular price is  $786 a month.  The negotiated price with Medicare is about $521 a month.

With the new RX laws, the most we will ever pay is $2000 out of pocket in a years time.

The only people I know who don't have a Plan D are those people who are low income and can't afford it.....they can go on Medicaid and those who have an advantage plan.

It's your choice, of course.  But given your preexisting conditions and your age which is on the younger side of Medicare, you really should change your mind and purchase a plan.

Even if you get the cheapest plan you can find, it would be great.  You can always update your RX coverage every year to a better plan during open enrollment starting in October if your needs change.

I can get Telmisartan for $5 a month or 90 days for $15 on my plan.