That is annoying. Good luck finding a new plan. Ask a lot of questions,

Consider using a Health insurance agent or broker. No cost to you.

Small price to pay in this day and age for the services that keep you alive and relatively well. What a relief you have options.

That's too bad. I hope you're able to get the coverage you need.

Doesn't the Medicare site list alternative plans and insurance companies? I'd expect that when plan coverages are similar but only deductibles differ from one to another, much of the annual cost difference would be to account for the deductible difference. Like most insurance, you can guess whether and to what extend you need coverage, the insurance company varies the premium so that it's indifferent as to what choices customers make. It factors in expected claim amounts so that its risks are covered either way. Which is what the insurance business is all about, collect enough to cover claims and operating expenses and leave a profit after all obligations are met.

That's really a shame. I have no advice since supplements differ from state to state and even counties within states. I think I pay a little more for our Premera Blue Cross, but its no deductible. They cover anything Medicare does not. I believe I pay premiums I might find cheaper elsewhere but we haven't had a balance on a doctors visit or lab work ever. Dental is another story, our coverage is not as complete there.

I have United healthcare and it covers everything. I pay 217.00 a month. I am very pleased with it.

We are with Mutual of Omaha. No deductible and we each pay 248.00 a month. Have no dental coverage, we pay as we go every 6 months for cleanings. Us being 82, guess it’s a good thing that our premiums cost much more than services received. Who knows as we age, when we may need many more services. Oh, the joy of getting old.

Well, that's infuriating! Doesn't seem fair at all.

That sucks!

what sucks???

I think some here are confused. This concerns my Medicare PART D (prescriptions) plan, not Medicare Supplemental coverage. Medicare requires every participant to buy Part D insurance.

I used the Medicare.gov site and found three 'likely' replacements for my Part D. One has no deductible, but of course makes up for that with a higher premium. I was surprised to see a change in how the site estimates costs. They used to rank expenses using the total of Premium + Out of Pocket. Now they show Premium + Retail Cost of the medication. WOW!

Because I have one Tier 3 maintenance drug, the Premium + Retail on these three are between $12,202 and $12,746 per year. (Maybe the government wants to educate the public about how much Big Pharma is milking US taxpayers.) Tallied using the old method of Premium + Out of Pocket, these three range between $943 and $2,584 per year.

These are established companies: Aetna and BC.

I don't mean to say that Retail Cost isn't important. It determines when you enter the GAP stage, where you pay more out of pocket for prescriptions.

chisue I was told the amount paid for your drugs so far would transfer over. So if you met a $445 deductible already then it will be met on another plan. You can find more information here.

Hey! Thanks for the link, P! I've yet to receive any mail from Medicare about the need to get a new plan. Maybe that will cover the deductible issue -- and the total amounts both I and the prior plan have paid. (OOP and Retail Costs)

I applied for an Aetna Part D online just an hour ago, after speaking with my DH's benefits company. They help fund part of *his* plans as a retirement perk, but not mine, so I didn't apply through them.

Chisue, doesn't your supplemental policy take care of the GAP stage of your prescriptions? Ours (Medigap Plan F benefits) does, and from what you've posted before, your supplemental plan has the Plan F benefits but with a high deductible for Medicare Part B benefits. Did you change your supplemental plan?

I only ever get insurance through major carriers. Many years ago, a bud's neighbor had health insurance through a smaller group which then went belly up. He was receiving cancer treatments at the time and was responsible for tens of thousands of dollars worth of treatment even though he had been covered at the time.

Lindsey -- Thank you! I didn't know that!

I've trashed my 2020 Part D monthly statements, so can't go back and look. Maybe I can tell from the December statement? I guess I need to learn how to claim GAP cost reimbursement from my BSBS-IL Medicare Supplemental Plan F. (I switched from their high deductible Plan F to full Plan F coverage in Feb. 2020.)

I called my BSBS-IL insurer. No, my Plan F through them does not cover any prescriptions, in or out of the Gap. I had not thought there was any difference between Plan F coverage through different providers or in different states, but maybe California has different requirements from Illinois.

A plan F is a plan F, even in California. Lindsey might have coverage thru a retirement plan that has extra benefits or her plan is actually a Medicare advantage plan.

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.

OK, you are covered by a plan that is for people who worked for the state, correct? That is not available to most people. Yes, public employees and some unions may offer something similar. But it is not available to the average person.

Nowhere have I said that our plan is available to the general public. I do know that our Medicare Supplement falls under the "Plan F" matrix, and I do know that all Plan F policies cover the same things. I was mistaken in thinking that it's our Supplement that takes care of the prescription gap coverage -- I know that it takes care of the Medicare Part B deductibles, Part A co-pays, ambulance co-pays, etc., etc. And our PDP comes with the Supplement policy - no separate premium, etc.

And, actually, because they are a tandem deal, in a way you *could* say that our Supplement takes care of the gap...

I appreciate your trying to help, Lindsey. I'd pretty much decided you had different coverage due as a retiree from state government. A retired teacher friend of mine also has some different perks/options.