We have it this year and have had it for awhile but in January we are going to change. Not because we are unhappy but we found a plan that is better for us. Walmart has always been a good one for us. This year we are changing to First Health Part D Value Plus...It has no deductible for us and Walmart Humana has a $300 amount. It is $110 more per year but no deductible..you have to compare if you can.

Everything (in life) is a trade-off, isn't it? My present plan has no deductible, but the premiums would cost me about $250 more per year. So if I switched I'd be betting I wouldn't need more than $250 worth of prescriptions over the course of the year. I don't see any way to predict that. I lead a healthy lifestyle, but the year I had shingles I exceeded that amount in anti-viral meds.

My mantra is...enroll in plans for what could be not what is.

I, too, take no prescriptive meds and have little, if any, use for a drug plan...which sorta explains why I'm paying a huge late enrollment penalty every year on top of my monthly Part D premium. And...I, too, looked into the Humana plan with hopes that it would provide some financial relief. However, although it would be a lower monthly premium than my Aetna plan now...it would cost me much more money if I suddenly became dependent upon it for regularly needed prescriptive drugs. I find it pays to read the "small print" where these plans are concerned. I opted for the more expensive Aetna plan and the mental security [which is very important to me] that it provides me.

HTH, Susan.

Anne

Keep in mind though that you can change at the beginning of every enrollment so you are not stuck with a plan for life. I don't think it is wise to go with an expensive plan just because someday you might need a bunch of drugs.

I am assuming that is for meds. I don't have any insurance for meds. On the rare occasion I need something the doc prescribes something sensible,below $20. usually

Susan, just some food for thought. Even if you currently have no health issues and a healthy lifestyle do be aware that can change in a heartbeat. I consider myself to be healthy as well, I take no meds to control blood pressure or cholesterol but I do take a medication for my rheumatoid. There is nothing else to help with it and nothing I could do to prevent the RA. The Rx would cost me $1800 a month if I did not have coverage. Just something to think about.

Just be very careful with Humana insurance. There are some medical centers that refuse people with it as it did/does not pay what they claim We do have one very large center that makes the people pay cash, then files or makes the people file. Big problems.

DH decided to look into the Walmart/Humana RX plan. It looked good for his needs until he saw the Aetna/CVS RX plan. One of hs drugs went from tierI to tier III.

He went over to Aetna(no deductable), but i'm staying with UnitedHealthcare/AARP. Most of my drugs are generics.

I have the AARP/United plan, too (like Monica).

Vala, you must be under 65. Anyone 65 or over has to obtain prescription drug coverage or end up paying hefty penalties like Anne. I've never understood that rule.

Anne, thanks for mentioning the "small print."

Lynn, I have some autoimmune issues and can relate. Plus if I've learned anything in this life so far, it's that we can't predict everything that will or won't happen.

Marie, I must have heard some negative stuff about Humana some time ago, because I tend to avoid anything they put out. I've decided to avoid this one too, and stick with what I've got.

I wouldn't care if Walmarts plan was free, I would not deal with Walmarts pharmacy....

While shopping in Walmart one evening Jan saw a sign in their pharmacy guaranteeing they could save money on your precriptions so out of curiosity she took her list of meds to the counter and discussed it with the pharmacist. Out of 7 meds, they not only could not beat the price, they could not even match the prices she was getting at CVS.

About 2 months later my doctor gave me a prescription, and on the way home from the doctors office we happened to stop at a Walmart. I figured rather than make a separate trip to Jans pharmacy I would just get it filled there.

I turned in my prescription and showed them my medicaide card and about 5 minutes later the Walmart druggist told me that Medicaide won't pay for it, but they could let me have it with a SR Discount and it would only be $53. I didn't have the $53 at the moment so I left without the prescription.

The next day I went to CVS with Jan and while there I showed my prescription to the druggist and told him Walmart said Medicaide don't cover it, then I asked if that drug is available under another name or a generic if they happened to have it, could he call my Doctor to approve the substitution?

He said, "We have exactly what you have on your prescription and that is exactly what Medicaide prefers,,,Not only can I fill it, there is not even a co-pay on that item.

Five minutes later I exited the store with my prescription and the only money I spent there was for a bottle of coke on my way out.

I almost always use my local Walmart's pharmacy. I started going there after discovering they charged only $15 for the heart med my dog took every day of her (long) life. CVS had been charging me $55. So I guess a lot depends on the prescription.

However, I will say I was less impressed with the Walmart pharmacy when I filled a prescription for doxycycline, an antibiotic, and discovered when I got home that they had given me an antidepressant. Not only that, but the pharmacist suggested I "throw away" the wrong pills. Since there is no way for me to safely dispose of them, I said, no, I would bring them back to the store.

Correction! Senility must be catching up with me faster than I thought. Sigh My drug plan is with AARP-United Healthcare, too [not Aetna] and I've been very satisfied with their services for the little that I've needed them.

As for pharmacies...IMO...it all depends on the people who actually run/work at these pharmacies. In my neighborhood...I've given up on the three major pharmacies for pricing and other more critical errors...and have been getting the few scripts that I need through the pharmacy at Stop & Shop. They've been spot on every time...price and service wise. Not to mention that I've gotten terrific advice from their pharmacists when I've inquired on one subject or another.

Anne

How long does someone like Anne have to pay that big penalty? Forever?? I'm not Medicare age but I do billing for a chiropractor and just like to keep informed about insurance issues. I can't understand why they make you pay such a penalty. It's your loss that you didn't/don't have prescription coverage.....isn't it??

I think it's forever, but Anne knows more about it than I, and perhaps she'll give you a more definitive answer. I think it's a crazy rule. The government probably has some rationale for it, but I don't know what that might be.

Juellie, have you noticed Medicare cutting people off from chiropractic care? That's what happened to me, even though I never came close to using all the allowed visits (12 per year). They decided I had a chronic condition, and therefore it wasn't their problem. Plus Medicare doesn't believe in preventive medicine. Grrrr........

Yup...GROAN...it's forever...unless the Supreme Court rules that the government cannot force people to carry medical insurance....saying that it's unconstitutional. If they do that...in the coming year...the Feds will have to drop the penalty.

I did contest it when it was imposed as my error was not intentional. I hadn't been informed by my late husband's insurance carrier that I was required to carry Part D. I use no prescriptive drugs so I guess they assumed I didn't need to be concerned about it. WRONG! They did tell me that I had to replace the Supplemental policy and I did so immediately. I should say that all my health benefits died the minute [literally] that my husband died due to an irreversible benefits decision that he'd made long before I met and married him. And my ignorance of his benefits package was not intentional. They would never allow me access to anything. If my husband didn't deal with them nothing got done.

In any case...Medicare partly found in my favor...erasing 8 months from the penalty formula...but leaving the remaining 36 months using the excuse that ignorance is no excuse when it comes to the law. So...I now pay 1% times a yearly Federally elected dollar figure times 36 [months] and that amount is added to my monthly premium. It usually amounts to about $15/mo. And it makes me a very unhappy camper considering that my only source of income is SS and I still have a mortgage to pay each month...not to mention all the other little life necessities that come along with daily survival.

So...for anyone who's age 65 or about to become age 65...talk to a SS or Medicare representative and enroll in a Medicare approved Part D program ASAP. If you don't...you could end up being penalized like me when you do elect to enroll in a Part D program...or when it's discovered that you're not enrolled in a plan. It's been mandatory since 2006. Learn from my mistake! Or gamble that the Supreme Court will find in our favor...knocking the whole forced insurance program out of the ball park.

Anne

Lipitor is now generic and costs Humana $30 less a month yet my husband has to pay the same copay. How does this make sense?

Mimi, do you really expect an insurance company to make sense? :-)

One thought: Does your husband's prescription specify that generic is okay, or is it still limited to the Lipitor brand?

It can be either so he is going to get the Lipitor brand so Humana can't pocket the extra $30 a month. Also reporting the practice to Medicare, insurance commissioner etc. If medicare is in trouble why are they subsidizing this.

if the doctor did not specify he had to have Lipitor then you need to tell them he wants the generic and the lower co-pay. or you can just go to the lipitor site and they will send you a card for only $4 co-pay at any pharmacy just because it has now become generic.
Register Now for the LIPITOR $4 Co-Pay Card

either way there should be no way they charge you that kind of co-pay unless $30 is your lowest co-pay option on your plan.

I have the $4 copay card but now my pharmacy tells me I must get the generic form and that cost me $15. I said well what if I just get lipitor brand and they said that my insurance will not pay for a brand name if there is a current generic.

Wal-mart automatically gives you the generic unless the doc says not to do so. I am surprised at the response by LP because we have always had the best service from Wal-Mart and their pharmacists are always topnotch in the help department.

Just a tip--those of you paying hefty premiums for your drug coverage... Have you checked your state's coverage? I'm sure it can vary from state to state, but I've been both my mom and aunt's caregiver for over 15 years. Originally, our state offered seniors a 'gold plan' that, if you qualified, had no premium, and meant that you got each of your meds for ONLY a $5 co-pay. When the federal plan went into effect, the state picked up the premium for the insurance and the co-pays were still quite low. The income qualifier was generous--Aunt had 4 pensions and her SS, and she still qualified for the state's coverage. Don't your states do the same?