People on Medicare (or about to be) - can you give me suggestions?

I decided on Medicare plus a supplemental as well. I’m using the AARP/United Plan F. I just had a major health incident – the broken ankle – and have not had to pay any additional costs between the two plans besides the week in the rehab place which I knew upfront would not be covered.

As far as drug plans, I don’t have many prescriptions but I have been getting the Humana Part D plan. However, it went up 6 dollars the second year and now they are proposing to more than double it so I am looking to change it.

By the way, I didn’t know they were phasing out Plan F. Will have to look again.

I also did Plan G because I liked the plan, I did Anthem BCBS because a few more Drs that I was interested in accept it. I am on so few drugs that for the moment I am doing WellCare for my Plan D for $14 per month.
I recommend getting a person to facilitate (paid for by the government, not you) if there is anything at all unusual about you. In my case, it was my name, kept tripping all the sensors and it took forever to get stuff squared away.

@janbb If you’re already on F, you can keep it, but no new F subscribers after January.

@canidmajor Yes, I have a financial planner who is not my financial planner who will consult with you for free and suggest what plan is best for you. Please tell me more in a PM about WellCare because I also don’t have many prescriptions to fill.

Check the coverage for Scripts, some Part D limit coverage of certain meds.
My Part D with BCBS covers a couple of meds I take; while Humana and UnitedHealthcare would not (I’d have to pay after Medicare price of the meds)

@canidmajor

I also have Humana Part D and I’m also interested in WellCare. If you don’t mind, how about copying just the relevant parts of your PM to @janbb and sending it to me?

Since I’m not taking any prescriptions, it seems like a waste to pay $50/month for something I don’t foresee needing for at least the near future.

I recently joined the club too. I chose Mutual of Omaha Plan G and Humana/Walmart Value drug plan. I don’t take any medications so I looked for the cheapest premium. Good luck. You’ll feel like a second class citizen. It’s horrible when you have to go to Medicare. I am toying with the idea of forgoing everything except the Medicare itself. Seriously, 20% of Part B services is nothing for me. Even if I had to have a bunch of tests every year, 20% of the Medicare allowable is not much….....the supplement premium in my state is very high. I pay $180; if I lived somewhere like Missouri it would be under $100 . Supplements are age rated so whatever age you are when you subscribe, that’s the age rate you will pay for the rest of your life. That’s something to think about too. Plus with supplements you get an extra year of hospitalization covered (in your lifetime) that Advantage doesn’t offer. Welcome! :)

@Brian1946 Humana has a Part D Value plan with a $13.00 premium. So does Cigna. I’m like you, no real drug expenses so that premium irritates.

I would stay away from CVS/Silverscript. I know too many people who have real health issues and have to take expensive meds and Silverscript seemed to just screw them. Midyear they raise prices one, two, three hundred percent. Maybe all the plans do that but Silverscript is the name I remember the most. I run a Facebook group with thousands of members for retirees of my old company and have helped/tried to help with many problems regarding Medicare, supplements, drug plans. That’s why I know as much as I do, not to say I’m an expert, but I’ve learned a whole lot along the way.

@Sagacious good information, appreciate that view. It’s counter to what I had heard before, but it’s good to know.

@janbb Humana tried to move me to their most expensive plan this year, claiming my old plan no longer exists. Not true. My plan exists now with a $13 premium, Humana/Walmart Value plan. My old plan (different plan number) was $29 and tried to move me to one with $58 premium. Shame on them. They do that to old people. It’s infuriating. That’s why I spend time every day on Facebook group helping old retirees.

@Sagacious

How did Humana notify you that they were trying to move you to their most expensive plan?

Are you restricted to buying your prescriptions at Walmart with the H/W plan?

@Brian1946 I received a new 2020 booklet and notification via mail that my plan (which was $29/month) would not be available in 2020 and that my new plan would be $58/mo. When I went to the exchange Humana/Walmart had a 2020 plan available that is just like my old plan but with a new plan # and title for $13/month. I buy my insurance through an exchange set up by my former employer but the plans are the same available to the public. In the Part D world there are standard pharmacies and preferred pharmacies. You get the best prices at preferred pharmacies. In the Humana/Walmart plans, Walmarts are the preferred pharmacies. Your insurance is good at other but they are categorized as standard. I don’t shop at Walmart but I like getting my drugs (retail at the store..not mail order). Whether I’m in Florida or Colorado, there is always a Walmart store. I’m happy with Humana for now since I only take a couple of not-big-deal prescriptions. I think it gets more complicated if you have expensive maintenance drugs. The things I take are on Walmart’s cheap list and cost hardly anything without insurance. But because of Medicare I’m forced to have a Part D plan and pay a premium. At least that cost went down. Everything is going up in 2020…Medicare Part B premium and deductible both going up plus the Part A deductible is going up by $56. That takes care of that little Social Security raise a couple of times. ;)