Is Medicare Part D (RX plan) worth it for PWC?

[Misfit Toy]

I am so baffled and don't have prescription D coverage. I am on benzos and figure, why get it. Every medicine I want to take is really expensive. Imitrex and VFEND. VFEND is $2,500 for one month's supply. I get in touch with the drug maker and get the meds for free. I make less than you are alloted to make so, you can get meds for free. Where it can be a problem is if you need an antibiotic right away. You can't get in touch with a drug company and go through the hoops when you need an antibiotic NOW. It's a tough call and like Caledonia, I am sick of giving them my money when they don't help enough and don't cover my meds! What is the point! Getting it from Pfizer or many of the drug companies is not that hard. And they give you refills for a year!

 

[iamsewnsew]

I was completely overwhelmed by the number of companies offering Medicare Part D coverage which would have cost me a lot more each month than I was already paying since I do qualify for free meds from the drug companies' Patients Assistance Programs. So since I don't tolerate drugs all that well and use mostly supplements I didn't take Medicare Part D.

The only problems I've run into is that some of them will only consider you if you DO HAVE Medicare Part D and the drug you need isn't covered for one reason or another; and sometimes there isn't a Patient Assistance Program for a particular drug.

NeedyMeds.org is a great source of programs for both brand name and generic drugs including what you need to do to apply.

Occasionally it's cheaper to buy the drug in quantity yourself than pay the fee for a 90 day supply at a company like Rx Outreach.

Hope this helps!

 

[curecfs]

I ended up just going with A&B for cost reasons and "not wanting to deal with it" reasons, lol. I can get my most expensive medicine (Pristiq) for free thru Pfizer, and my others are generic so shouldn't be too bad. I really don't want to take any more RX drugs anyways, I've tried a lot, and most will not help my CFS. If it doesn't seem to be a good choice after a year I guess I'll re-evaluate.

 

[ahimsa]

I ended up just going with A&B for cost reasons and "not wanting to deal with it" reasons, lol.

I can definitely relate to the "not wanting to deal with it" - LOL!

I can get my most expensive medicine (Pristiq) for free thru Pfizer, and my others are generic so shouldn't be too bad. I really don't want to take any more RX drugs anyways, I've tried a lot, and most will not help my CFS. If it doesn't seem to be a good choice after a year I guess I'll re-evaluate.

The biggest risk that I see with not taking Medicare part D coverage is that none of us know what other conditions we may get in the future. Some future illness may be best treated with a prescription drug. If you sign up later then there will be a penalty. The longer the time between when you could have signed up and when you did sign up, the greater the penalty.

Since those of us who are on medicare due to disability are generally quite a bit younger than 65 we may have a lot more years ahead of us (statistically speaking). I think that might increase the risk of needing some prescription drugs for another condition at some point down the road.

Please don't think this is trying to change your mind - you know your own situation best! There are so many different variables to consider.

I just thought I'd point out the possibility of getting some other medical condition later and then having to pay a much higher premium for part D. If I understand correctly it's not a one time penalty, it's a higher premium forever (someone please correct me if this is wrong).

In my case it was a no brainer because my part D premiums were a lot lower than the cost of the three prescription drugs that I take for my Orthostatic Intolerance (Neurally Mediated Hypotension). In fact, the cost for these three drugs, even though they are all generics (midodrine, fludrocortisone, and time release potassium), is enough for me to get trapped in the infamous medicare part D "doughnut hole" (here's a web page that explains the doughnut hole for those who are curious - http://healthinsurance.about.com/od/medicare/a/understanding_part_d.htm ).

But I don't hit the limit until December and then things get reset again in January. So I've only had to pay extra for that one month. And with the new changes in health care reform this is slowly going to be phased out.