I believe the federal goverment Medicare Website has a Medicare D Plan Comparison Tool available. At least they used to when I worked for them. Try Medicare dot gov and do some research. I can't tell you specifics from each plan. Best of luck!

Part D can be a crock. The premiums plus copays cost my grandmother more than her meds would cost without the coverage. Problem is 3 of her 4 meds are generic and their cost comes in less than the copay, so the plan covers nothing on them.

Check for a local HICAP program and get a review from a counselor. There are a number of changes this coming year, and the available plans all make changes. Contact your local agency on aging for help. And yes, comparison shopping can be done online thru Medicare's website.

The open enrollment period this year is October 15 to December 7.

I've linked to a California website that's informative, but since this is a Federal program, the information should be useful to residents of other states, too.

Here is a link that might be useful: Part D info

I'm finding that Part D plans don't change the base problem: The uncontrolled cost of prescription drugs. A low-premium Part D plan sounds good when it offers you an initial copay that is a small percentage of the retail cost of your medicatiion.

But inflated retail on drugs means more people reach the 'donut hole' sooner. (That's $2930 total retail cost for 2012.) Then the individual will pay at least 50% of that inflated retail. Few will go beyond the 'hole' to the 'Catastrophic Stage', where they pay only 5%. (That kicks in only after a person has OUT OF POCKET costs of $4700.)

Dadoes, I'm glad your grandmother doesn't need any expensive meds. Part D premiums plus our prescription drugs cost my DH and me over $4000/year. When I add the cost of Medicare Part B and a supplementary medical policy, the total is more than I budget for groceries.

I've been taking Advair for about ten years. Their lawyers have a stranglehold on the product; I doubt I will live to see this go generic.

In January of this year Walgreens quoted Advair retail at $516.79 for a 90-day supply, a big jump from the prior year. In March Walgreens quoted the same 90-day supply at $823.59 retail. This month it went to $849.19. Zap! I'm in the donut hole on this medication alone!

I'm investigating Part D plans from two different companies. THEY are quoting retail of $684 for a 90-day supply of Advair in 2012. It's hard to believe they are right when Walgreens has been much higher for *this* year.

IF the retail price quoted by a plan is accurate, I pay $110 copay for four 90-day supplies of Advair and I DON'T go into the 'donut hole' in 2012. (My drug's total retail won't top $2930.) However, if the retail is actually higher, I DO go into the 'donut hole', and I'd be paying 50% of retail (plus dispensing fees) before the end of 2012.

In the second plan I looked at there is no flat dollar-amount co-pay; it's a percentage of the *whatever* retail from the start of the year, going to the same 50% of retail in the 'hole'.

The unforseeable retail sways me towards the plan with a dollar amount copay. I can count on that exact amount for at least most of the year. If I avoid the 'hole', I'd be paying $440 for my Advair + $410 for the plan premium. Wow, 'only' $850 for one medication for one year.

DH has TWO expensive meds. He goes into the 'hole' at the end of May -- or sooner if Walgreens is right on retail and the plan prediction is short. The least he will pay for these two meds and premium is over $3000.

You may want to investigate HMO's that cover medicenes as part of the plan.

chisue, I do not have anything to do with Medicare yet but I can say that I definitely feel your pain on the generic issue. My daughter is a type 1 diabetic and because of the way insulin is classified, it will never be generic.

Tish -- I resent that the makers of Advair managed to get an alternative treatment removed from the market a year after Advair was introduced. Until then you could buy each of the two active ingredients separately and inhale them one after the other. They have dramatically raised the price for ten years with no changes to the product and have built bulwarks of patents against generic development. Ten years of ever-increasing profits are enough. We've OVERpaid for their research and development. Enough already! (I had no idea about insulin -- how awful!)

Sushipup -- I'm near Chicago, but I did read through the California link you provided. Thank you. I learned an important fact: ALL of the retail cost of a drug goes toward True Out Of Pocket when you are in the coverage gap stage. I'd thought OOP meant only what the individual spent (50% of retail). I still don't see DH getting to the 5% copay though!

Glads I could help some. We just took a Boomer 101 class because we both turn 65 next year. Doesn't the donut hole go away in the future?

>>Doesn't the donut hole go away in the future?>>

The 'donut' narrows each year until it goes away completely in 2014 - IF the healthcare reform bill is not repealed. The Republicans have already stated that a tenet of their party platform for 2012 will be to repeal the law entirely. Since the party is currently considered likely to seize control of both houses in Congress in 2012, it really won't matter who wins the Presidential election.

Considering a move to Canada. (sigh)

If the GOP controls both houses of Congress after the 2012 election, they could, indeed, repeal the healthcare reform act. However, the repeal bill would be subject to a presidential veto, which could be overridden only by a two/thirds vote of both houses of Congress. It's extremely unlikely there would be enough votes for that.

So with regard to the future of the healthcare reform act, who sits in the Oval Office would matter a great deal.

Each year I spend hours figuring out which Part D plan is best for us. DH takes many meds, three of which are very expensive. I finally figured out that we will buy two of them from an online Canadian drugstore, pay about 1/3 of the cost here in the US and that 1/3 is about the same as the co-pay if we went thru the Part D plan. We also buy cheap generics at Target for $10 for 90 days (not submitted to the insurer), which is less than the co-pay for these drugs thru the Part D plan. That way, he comes very close to the donut hole, maybe going over by about $50 each year. It's the cheapest way to buy drugs. Nevertheless, his prescription meds cost more than his doc appointments, blood tests, etc.

I can't imagine how some elderly, who are frail or ill can negotiate this maze. It definitely is designed to rip off people which is not surprising since it was designed to benefit the pharmaceuticals.

Canadian drugs are every bit as good as those in the U.S., but about 1/3 the cost. Something is foul-smelling here.