Am looking at Medicare part D Rx plan costs. We are in the donut hole this year and will also be next year. For those in the donut hole, the true out of pocket cost is determined by what the Plan considers as full cost of the med. The higher the full cost the sooner you enter the donut hole and the higher cost of the meds once there. For 2013 plan A full cost of 30 tab generic Aricept is $136.95; plan B is $17.39. This results in monthly donut hole cost for A of $108.19 or plan B $13.79. Now I know why the med bill was so high this year. Getting donut hole cost by calling insurance companies is difficult. However, Medicare has a good evaluator on their web site.
I am working so we have insurance through my employer. I know nothing of the Medicare plans ... boggles my mind just to read them!
The Palm Beach Post every year prints some kind of information on all the options, which people find very helpful. It is supposed to run tomorrow in the print edition. I would think it would be available online at www.palmbeachpost.com
With DH's meds more than $5,000 a month, I will probably be working forever. We meet our deductible for him in January each year, and after that, the meds are covered 100 percent.
Some pharmacies provide help with calculations, but I think they only include some plans. I once worked with my FIL on calculating potential benefits from a series of plans. Wasn't simple.
Makes me thankful that I have a good insurance plan from work. Much simpler.
another real issue is that ins providers will change their lists of drugs and what they say is the retail cost is significantly higher than say what the drug would be at say a CVS..my carrier has a pharmacy service and they say their price is cheaper and we should buy a 90 supply from them of DH more expensive drugs..they are right if you consider 72 cents a significant saving..it has gotten to the point of me blocking their number due to the number of "suggestions for savings" they were calling with. Aricept above is a prime example of how much the costs can differ..DH is on it and Namenda and several others for his respiratory status and hit the donut hole very early in the year..and the thing is, he dont get the whole concept and when I was complaining about the costs, he internalized it as me saying his meds were costing too much (he regards me as a demon torturing him, so he is always very negative in his thinking where I am concerned) so his solution was to not take them!
Just returned from pharmacy on my med. Since I know how price is determined in the donut hole I asked for both branded and generic cost - branded was $64, generic $84
I am thankful my hb has VA medical. We don't have to worry about any of that. He has Medicare but do not use it -= he likes the VA and his neurologist.
Bridgewitch,I never tell my husband how much his meds cost.I know if he knew he would refuse to take them,the pharmacy clerk never says the amt. out loud,just shows me on the screen,it's our secret.He's been in the hole since early spring,yes it does hurt the pocketbook,but what do you doif they are necessary?. Funny thing, most of the generics are cheaper in the hole now than they were with our copay.