And the fun begins....Medicare Part D

[minniecarousel]

whoopee! I just looove figuring out the new Medicare Prescription coverage for my Mom. I thought I had it all under control, only to find out that she needs "prior authorization" for 2 of her medications! Just being written on the doctor's Rx pad is not good enough - the doctor needs to fill out a questionaire defending his prescription! How do older people figure this stuff out? (she keeps handing me stuff she receives in the mail regarding the new Rx plans! "Ma - it's under control!" yeah, right!)

 

[wanna-b-Tink]

The PA is standard in the plan I offer my employees and retirees.

There are so many drug/generic alternatives out there that are many times much less expensive than what she may be on. Not only will it save the plan money, but depending on which plan she took, it will save her more too! With the standard plan, if she's got the $250 deductible and then a 25% copay, a medication that costs $100 a month less will end up saving her quite a bit (just an example). For instance, a 3 month of Nexium is somewhere around $400. If that person can take omeprazole,the generic, at about $150 for three months, the plan and the person together will save $250 every quarter, or $1000 annual savings! Nexium is our number one prescribed drug, so I'm pretty up on prices for it...

Once she gets used to the prior auth, it won't be so bad. It really is intended to make her a wise consumer.

Some days I love my job, but trying to put together my presentations to explain Part D to over 100 retirees/spouses was not one of those days!
If I can help you with specifics, PM me. I'll try to help!

 

[HERSEY]

Thank goodness your Mom has you helping her. I work with insurance for our members we are just sitting back and waiting for medicare to figure this mess out. Just another example of government stepping in with maybe a good idea but no idea how to implement.

 

[wanna-b-Tink]

Thank goodness your Mom has you helping her. I work with insurance for our members we are just sitting back and waiting for medicare to figure this mess out. Just another example of government stepping in with maybe a good idea but no idea how to implement.

I agree on the good idea/poor implementation!!! And boy did they UNDERPRICE the plan! I see a HUGE premium increase for 2007!

 

[dg39]

I'm trying to figure this out for my mom for months. Nothing but pure HELL....Aggrivation after aggrivation....Call after call.....I'm going crazy..I been trying to tell my dm that this has to be done for months now, but, she waited till she came to live with me so I can go CRAZY with it. Anyway, most of her medicines are covered somewhat by alot of the discount plans, but one. Even with the coverage she still has to lay out $$$ each month. We found one plan that sounds good, with no deductable each month and are waiting for that return call from them to explain more in detail. This is a big mess and is making it harder for seniors. Its so hard to understand and IMHO, there's just soooo many plans to look at, that its enough to make you crazy. I know just what your going through.....

 

[snowball22]

I just did the same thing two days ago for my mom. What a nightmare!!! They really need to streamline the whole program. It is quite confusing!! I am not looking forward to getting older and having to deal with issues like this. I am sure there are alot of stressed out people out there right now.