Wellness

[Zwervend]

For all you folks griping about the cost of your Medicare plans, I would be delighted to trade places with you.

I am retired, but not yet elegible for Medicare. I didn't qualify for any employer sponsored retiree insurance. I pay 100% out of pocket for a 60/40 BCBSM PPO plan that doesn't pay for anything other than what the ACA mandates until I've spent $7500 on my own. My premiums are $953 per month. I shopped and shopped, looking for the best coverage I could get for the least amount of money. This was it. I will be delighted when I am elegible for Medicare and reduce my insurance costs significantly!

I knew I would be paying a lot for pretty crappy insurance when I decided to retire early, and I budgeted for it. But it still makes me shake my head when I see people complaining about insurance that is, in all reality, very reasonably priced. 

[ManyMeows]

💊 Good Rx is your friend.

Check it out, regardless of your insurance plan. Often, their prices are lower than your insurance coverage. It doesn't cost a thing to compare prices.

[Icegoddess]

@Zwervend totally agree.  I couldn't even shop around.  BCBS was the ONLY choice in AL, so it was a choice between Bronze, Silver, or Gold.  That was it.  And I had very similar costs as you. It's worse than a COBRA high deductible plan (basically a catastrophic plan) which is what I had before the ACA.  

If you have the stomach for it, you might look into one of the term plans that don't have to adhere to ACA standards.  I seriously thought about one for the six month period before I became 65.  

[granddi]

Health care cost is the biggest complaints that seniors have about retirement.

We must know that costs for any insurance plan: Traditonal Medicare, Advantage Medicare, Part D, Supplements, Long Term Care, all of them--- will have yearly increase in costs, force you to take less coverage to control costs, cost increase with our age.

A simple question to ponder is : Why would there be a LAW that says that Medicare cannot negotiate drug prices?

[Estellee]

I have Welcare Prescription. Some of the Tier 3 and 4 drugs prices are outrageous and  I have found better prices on GoodRx, mostly dermatology type medications are at least half the price.

[Nightowlz]

So when do you find out how much the increase is? This is our first year on Medicare. We have Aetna Silver Scripts because it was the cheapest. DH takes no medications & I take NP Thyroid which Insurance won't pay so neither of have used our Part D.

[catmama]

Medicare.gov has information on how to pick the best Part D program for you.  We used a consultant last year and she only needed our ages, what medicaions we are taking and provided us with a few options. We went with the Aetna Silver Sneakers Basic Plan and have been very happy.

 We also use GoodRx for the random prescription that our insurance doesn't cover or is much more expensive.  

We just received our info for 2024 and doing a quick look (will do more research later this week) I think we'll stay with Aetna as it looks like costs might be going down.

Also, my husband was prescribed Jaridiance (which is very expensive) and he told his dr that he refused to take it for that very reason.  The drs office put him in touch with the distributor and we were set up with a direct purchase program which cut the cost by 65%.  Thats another option.

[Icegoddess]

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@Nightowlz wrote:

So when do you find out how much the increase is? This is our first year on Medicare. We have Aetna Silver Scripts because it was the cheapest. DH takes no medications & I take NP Thyroid which Insurance won't pay so neither of have used our Part D.

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@Nightowlz I'm on Silver Scripts and got my notice yesterday.  I think DH is too, but he hasn't received his yet.

[781Florist]

I'm glad I saw this thread.  I have not had any mailing regarding my 2024 plan premiums and so I just called my Cigna customer service to find out my rates for next year.

I currently pay $14.60 a month ( and they have a great option to pay the whole 12 months in a lump at the beginning...which I opted for.) 

Next year it is going up (Shock!  Surprise! )  but only to $21.30.  I really like Cigna a lot, and they own Express Scripts which is ultra convenient and incredibly affordable for tier 1 and 2 drugs.  I am fortunate that I have no meds in any tiers higher than that.  

A previous poster said that it depends on what state you live in as far as your rate.  That is correct.

[Carmie]

Medicare open enrollment begins each year on October 15 and ends on December 7.

At that time you can change your Advantage Plan or Medicare D plan ( RX coverage).

Make sure you always have RX coverage with your Supplemental plan, even if you do not use RX drugs.  You will be penalized if you go more than 63 days without RX coverage.  You can always choose the cheapest plan you can find and change it next year if your needs change.

You should make a list of your drugs and look at different RX plans each year.  You can have supplemental coverage with one company and RX coverge with another.  Shop for the best coverge to suit your RX needs.