You really might want to consider the former employer's pharmacy plan - but where I'm a bit confused... if your husband goes for the pharmacy plan for drug coverage and that proves satisfactory - why would there be a need for a switch to the Medicare Part D in 2012? He would, in effect, be dropping his creditable coverage and that creditable status doesn't carry over to a new plan (ie Medicare Part D because they don't care what you might have had), and would be subject to the forever penalty. Creditable is just comparing what you have against whatever else is out there. An actuarial firm determines that your plan offers Rx coverage that is equal to or better than Medicare Part D. Should be easy enough for him to get the boiler plate notice of "creditable" insurance for drugs from his former employer to keep in his files if he goes with what they're offering. In fact, it's a requirement that the notice be sent each year. It's an unimpressive few sheets of paper stating simply: The Society (I'm retired from the Nat'l Geographic Society) is required to issue this annual notice to participants. Then it goes on to explain Medicare Part D, why I don't need it, why I can't be covered for drugs under more than one plan, and what happens if I drop what I have for something else. I still think that the Medicare Part D penalty is imposed whenever it is not signed up for when you initially become Medicare eligible at 65. Guess I would check with the former employer - HR there should be on top of what they offer. And I'd call Medicare too - or your closest SS office. I found the people at our Social Security office really helpful - on the phone and in person.

In prior years, the medical deduction was limited to the only the expense amount in excess of either 7.5% or 10% of adjusted gross income (I forget which). So people needed to have some combination of low income and relatively high medical expenses to get any deduction for medical costs. Starting in 2018, the federal standard deduction will be $12K for single filers and $24K for joint returns. With the state tax deduction haircut to $10K in total and the same continuing limit on medical expenses, far fewer people will be itemizing deductions on their federal returns. For many people's state income taxes, changes corresponding to these federal changes have not been made and many may have a federal standard deduction while still itemizing for state taxes. I expect that when we have regime change in the US, the tax rules will be changed to revert to something closer to what they were before this latest round of nonsensical and deficit bloating changes. The upshot is that even for those who did deduct medical expenses (and insurance premiums) in prior years, far fewer will do so in the future. If there's no deduction for the current year (which you'll see when your return is prepared), there's no need to keep bills and correspondence beyond when each individual claim has been resolved.

We have access to licensed health insurance advisers (brokers) through my DH's former employer. After I ran the numbers on the Medicare Part D site, I called these people to verify my understanding of the two different plans I had selected for us. They could tell me nothing about the one I selected for myself because...it's not one that they 'broker'. So -- I wouldn't rely on just what one broker offers. Mutual of Omaha is new in our area in 2020. I enrolled in their Value Part D plan because it was among the cheapest when combining the cost of the premium and the cost of my meds. (Advair is my big expense at $450 retail per month.) I'm OK with their preferred pharmacy being CVS. I'll pay $22.80/month premium, and a total of $1232/month average out of pocket including known meds. (My 2019 Part D plan with United was completely overpriced for 2020 when I ran the numbers on the Medicare guide.) My 2020 Part D card arrived in the mail within two weeks of our October enrollment sign-ups; impressive. DH has so few meds that he rarely exceeds the deductible, so a low premium is a goal for him. (Nearly all Part D plans in our area have a $435 deductible in 2020.) He'll have WellCare Select Part D for 2020. Premium is $15.50/month; total with meds averages $249/month. (He also has to pay an $8 penalty in addition to this, dating from when he did not take a Part D plan the first year it was required.) We're OK with this CVS plan. His Part D card has yet to arrive -- despite two letters confirming enrollment; not impressive. We choose to have premiums paid by deduction from our Soc. Sec. benefits. No coupons. No direct withdrawal from bank account.

No, my plan is most definitely NOT a Medicare Advantage plan! Hubs and I are both covered by the PERSCare (PPO) Supplement to Medicare Plan and the PERSCare Medicare PDP (Prescription Drug Plan). (The Basic plan is for folks who are still active employees.) We don't get a choice of Prescription Drug Plans -- we have to take what the State offers with whatever Medicare Supplement Plan we choose. (For example, the State offers Kaiser, and Kaiser manages their own prescriptions. The California Correctional Peace Officers Association plans, active employees as well as retirees, are administered by Blue Shield, and the CCPOA pharmacy benefits are also administered by Blue Shield. The California Association of Highway Patrolmen plans, both Basic and Medicare Supplements, are administered by Anthem Blue Cross, but their prescriptions are managed by Express Scripts.) You can see all of this information on this page. Our plan (PERSCare) has no geographical restrictions. It covers us no matter where we are in the world. OptumRx manages the prescription drug coverage. We pay no additional premium for the drug coverage - it's included in the premium for the Supplement policy. You can read the entire Evidence of Coverage booklet if you're interested. I see in looking at it that it is, indeed, our "Plan D" that handles the Gap coverage (see this info starting on page 53 of the linked EoC; the Gap Stage on page 62; and the Catastrophic Coverage Stage on page 64). You can also see the Comprehensive Formulary if you're interested.