I have Medicare Parts A and B, and as a retiree of state service I have a supplemental plan. The state pays the entire premium for the supplemental plan, and it also reimburses me for the cost of the Part B premium as well as the additional IRMAA premium I get hit with for Part B. My state retiree supplemental plan includes prescription drug coverage, so that is considered to be my Part D coverage. But, even though there is no additional monthly premium for the "Part D coverage," I still get hit with the IRMAA premium for Part D coverage! And state law does not allow for the reimbursement of the Part D IRMAA premium. So, that's my only out-of-pocket medical expense. My supplemental plan picks up all deductibles, and, if I understand it correctly, also picks up any expenses that would be incurred by the Part D "donut hole." But I don't take enough meds in a year to hit the hole.

Since my prescription drug coverage is part of my supplemental plan, I do not have the option of choosing a different Part D plan -- unless I totally drop my supplemental plan or change to Kaiser, which I won't ever do.

Lindsey -- You are among the few who don't have to devote hours to parsing all the supplemental plans. We did fine with lower-premium, high-deductible Plan F supplemental until this year, when I had pneumonia. I may not reach the $2100 OOP deductible.

DH's former employer used to cover the most generous plans, but no more. We do still get some reimbursement, but I suspect that will fade away eventually.

I tried to use the Towers-Watson site today to look at Part D plans, but they aren't quite ready. The most costly of DH's two meds has gone generic this fall; they don't show the generic yet.

I'd like to see a cartoon of our premiums and OOP costs funneling in to the insurance and pharmaceutical industries, then coming out in contributions by the industries to the campaign funds of the pols who keep the circus going.

The same coverage I had as an employee continued into my retirement except I now have Medicare as my primary and Blue Cross is Secondary.The prescription plan is considered "comparable" and so I am not required to do anything else. I am happy with my plan which also covers my husband. I am 71, he is 74.. Most of our meds are cheap. Last one filled was 34 cents.

The State of California has 19 basic insurance plans from which to choose for active employees and retirees who are not yet on Medicare, and 9 supplemental plans (all of which include prescription drug coverage) from which to choose for retirees who are on Medicare. Different plans have different drug coverage. So, yeah, there is some parsing to do. The state contributes $1,343 monthly towards our health care premiums, and different plans have different premium amounts. We have the plan with the highest premium, so I know we're lucky that the state's contribution covers it as well as the Medicare premiums.

I do know that Medicare uses "letter designations" for the various supplemental plans -- you mentioned you have the high-deductible Plan F. I know that all insurance companies who offer, for example, a Plan C must cover everything that all other companies' Plan C covers, but each company can set their own premium rates. The plans that California state retirees have from which to choose do not show any letter designation whatsoever. You have to read the Evidence of Coverage booklets (available online) to determine if a plan is right for you or not. In that respect, we have more parsing to do than you. (And, yes, I did speak to the folks who are in the health insurance section at the California Public Employee Retirement System [CalPERS], and they have no idea what plan letter designations the various supplemental plans would have.) From my review of the various supplemental plans offered by the state, I know that the plan we have falls into the Plan F category.

The oldsters in my family, some now departed, didn't seem to have to go through the annual process you've described, chisue. They seemed to stick with what they had but having known them, I wouldn't necessarily assume they understood what they were doing.

I won't be facing this when I'm of Medicare age because of continuing employer coverage but it's hard to understand how and why the supplemental policies could be so different from one to another. And why the system is the way it is, seemingly requiring people to go through what must be a complicated and stressful process each year.

Snidely, you don't have to change policies (supplemental or Plan D) every year -- it's just that you can change if you wish, during the yearly open enrollment.

Lindsey-CA, I'm a retired educator. You and I are both blessed to have state supplemental coverage. Worry free! Been retired 22 years, now, after 30 1/2 years teaching.

I, too, have Medicare Parts A & B, with a supplemental retiree insurance benefit with "creditable" drug coverage. One less thing I have to think about.

And what's amazing to me is that Medicare pays more for some things than our expensive private insurance paid! For example -- blood tests. It galls me that labs charge $16 just for drawing the blood. I could draw my own - I used to work as a certified phlebotomist in a hospital and still know which tubes are used for which tests - but they won't accept tubes of blood that you bring in because there's no way to prove whose blood it is (without DNA tests, that is). So, first you get hit with the $16 charge and then the charge for the individual tests. Our Blue Cross basic plan considered $9 to be a reasonable charge for drawing blood, and they paid 90% of that ($8.10) and I would have to pay the remaining $0.90. Medicare pays the entire $16! It's crazy...

I'm also angry about the false advertising by supplemental insurers. The trumpet that "Medicare only pays 80%". Nobody receiving Medicare is going to get socked with a provider's outrageous initial charges. Those bills are sliced and diced when Medicare negotiates rates.

Many people have no need for supplemental insurance, but they won't know that until they've seen a $1000 provider's bill reduced to a "Medicare approved" $200 for that procedure -- of which they will pay $40. Seniors are paying thousands for supplemental when their total OOP expenses may only total $100 in a year.

At least you have a choice about buying supplemental. The Part D is *required*. Why is it required? Because our government does not police drug pricing, as it does in other First World nations. We are rewarding insurance providers and drug makers, as well as subsidizing the lower drug costs of other nations.

ChiSue wrote, "The Part D is *required*."

Actually, it isn't required. It's your choice whether to sign up for Part D coverage or not. BUT, if you don't sign up for it when you first become eligible, you will be stuck with a lifetime monthly penalty after you do sign up. That is, unless you fall into the penalty exemption category --- e.g., you or your spouse were still working after you turned 65 and you had coverage through your (or your spouse's) employer and that coverage included prescription drugs.