I haven't heard of any of this or else I just was't watching close enough. I live in Ohio. Any of my medicare needs I get locally. Have I missed something?

Veleen, in Ohio this program just includes Medicare enrollees in Cleveland, Elyria, and Mentor and also Cincinnatti. These are 'competieive bidding areas'. To be sure that you are not included, you can go to the site below and put in your zip code. It will tell you if your zip code is within a competitive bidding area.

Here is a link that might be useful: Medicare

You can contact your local Area On Aging office for information on participating suppliers. If you don't know what your Area on Aging office is called you can call Elder Care Locater at 1-800-677-1116 they are nationwide and can locate an office for you.

Medicare sent me a list of providers, and there is an updated list on the internet. I just would have liked to have all that information in time to get everything set up before DH runs out of blood testing supplies. After about 20 phone calls today, I finally found out that our insurer for durable medical goods won't pay the 20% copay if I use any of the providers that Medicare says I must use in order for Medicare to pick up the first 80%. And who is caught in the middle of this mess? Yep! The retired fixed income people who need these services the most.

I feel for you and maybe I can help. I have been a resource coordinator for many years, a 1-800- medicare rep and now have my insurance license specializing in senior insurance. I am in Michigan and can only really help people here but I may be able to put you on the right path, I have many contacts around the country. I specialize in helping those that are just above income levels to recieve help but below income that can afford anything,,,it is sad, I am a very busy person.

My parents had Medco. Now they have to use Nations Health for testing supplies. When they were switched, Medco transfered any existing refills directly to Nations Health.
Hope you get this straitened out.

Tami....also in Ohio, parents involved in same thing, but notified in time. I've been helping get things strait.

Lisa, you are so kind to offer help. I think we are ok now. But maybe not. When this Medicare Competitive Bidding Program reaches Michigan, hopefully the problems like ours will be realized and avoided.

Our problem is not just with Medicare now dictating what provider we must use in order for Medicare to pay the 80% of our cost of supplies. It also is with our secondary insurer dictating what provider we must use in order for them to pick up the remaining 20%.

My husband is retired from General Motors in Michigan. As you (in your work) may know, G.M. employees and retirees have Northwood as the insurance carrier for Durable Medical Equioment and Supplies, not BC/BS. Until this July 1 we had to get our Diabetes Testing Supplies by mail order from Wright and Fillipis in Rochester MI.as dictated by Northwood. Wright and Fillipis notified us in April that they had lost a bid with Medicare and would no longer be able to supply us and that Medicare would be sending information soon about the new program. As I said, we got that much needed info last Wednesday.

After several calls yesterday trying to find a provider from Medicares list of 11 choices, it suddenly dawned on me that I should call Northwood. Sarah told me that they, Northwood, doesn't have any of Medicare's choices on their list of approved providers, so they would not pick up that 20% copay if I used any of those choices. She then began going down her list of providers saying that if there was one near enough for us to deal with locally perhaps "we" could work with it. She gave me the name of Rezk Medical Supply just 4 miles from me. The only time I had ever heard of this place was 2 years ago when Northwood tried to send us there for Custom Stockings for my Husband. We went to the address given for it and found an empty building. Northwood had aslo given us a second choice for the stockings which we have been using since for the stockings...however this place is not approved by Northwood for Diabetes testing Supplies.

I called this Rezk place after talking to Sarah and learned that they had moved a little over 2 years ago. Sarah at Northwood to this day is still giving out that same address for them that she gave us 2 years ago. Anyway she says that we can use Rezk for the Diabetes supplies now and it will be ok with Medicare and Northwood I am not so sure, as it sais in the info I got from Medicare that using any provider other that their Competitive Bidding Program Contract Suppliers may result in non-payment of the 80% by Medicare.

I did learn accidently today that Rezk is connected with another PA provider that won in the Medicare Competitive Bidding. I was told by the person that answered Rezk's phone as "Punxy Medical" that she was answering because the phones had been turned over to Punxy Medical when the Rezk's girl had to leave the office. I have noted that many items of Durable Medical Equipment can be ordered from Punxy Medical that is in Medicare's approved list. However Diabetes Supplies is not on the list of what can be provided by Punxy Medical.

Financially we are ok if we wind up having to pay the 20% deductable. I wouldn't want to have to pay that 80% though. Diabetes Testing 4 times a day is very expensive. Many will find it a hardship. Looking at all of this, I don't see how Medicare could have made it more frustrating for the elderly. I, fortunately, am still capable of making some sense out of the senselessness.

I sincerely hope that when it comes time for this Medicare Saving Money Scheme to be introduced in Michigan where many thousands of GM retirees live that all the bugs are worked out and it indeed will save them money.