I went on medicare on 11-01-12. They would not fill my benicar medicine, until they spoke to the doctor to see why I needed it. It was during the holidays, and he was not going to be in the office until Monday. I went for 4 days without medication, until they could speak with him. I told them, I have been taking it since Dec 1996 when I had my bypass surgery, didn't make a diffrence. They told me that if I needed the medication, I could pay $147 and buy it. They will not let me get a 90 day supply, I have to go every 30 days now and get medication. I can no longer get it at HEB ( they are not approved by medicare, and it cost more to get medication there) I have to get it at CVS, Walgreens, or Wal-Mart. Yep I can tell you all about medicare part D. The summary they sent said I paid $81 for the benicar, and they paid $51 for a 30 day supply. I only paid $5 for it. I am not even going to question them about that. Barbra

Here is a good read taken from the link below. The Penalty Can Add Up! How much the late enrollment penalty will cost you depends on how long you did not have creditable prescription drug coverage. The late enrollment penalty is calculated by multiplying 1% of the "national base beneficiary premium" ($32.34 in 2011) times the number of full, uncovered months that you were eligible but didn't join a Medicare drug plan and went without other creditable prescription drug coverage. The final amount is then rounded to the nearest $.10 and added to your monthly premium. Since the "national base beneficiary premium" may increase each year, the penalty amount may also increase every year. You may have to pay this penalty for as long as you have a Medicare drug plan. Example 1: Mrs. Jones did not join a Part D plan when she was first eligible (by May 15, 2006). She joined a Medicare drug plan during the 2009 enrollment period (November 15,December 31, 2009), for an effective enrollment date of January 1, 2010. Since Mrs. Jones did not join when she was first eligible and went without other creditable drug coverage for 43 months (June 2007,December 2010), she will be charged a monthly penalty of $13.90 in 2011 ($32.34 x.01 = $.3234 x 43 = $13.90) in addition to her plan's monthly premium. If Mrs. Jones continues with her Part D drug plan for the next five years, her penalty will cost her over $800.00 Example 1: Mr. Smith did not join a Part D plan when he was first eligible (by January 15, 2010). He joined a Medicare drug plan during the 2010 enrollment period (November 15,December 31, 2010), for an effective enrollment date of January 1, 2011. Since Mr. Smith did not join when he was first eligible and went without other creditable drug coverage for 11 months (February 2010-December 2010), he will be charged a monthly penalty of $3.60 in 2011 ($32.34 x.01 = $.3234 x 11 = $3.0) in addition to his plan's monthly premium. If Mr. Smith continues with his Part D drug plan for the next five years, his penalty will cost him over $200.00 That's food for thought. Good post Molly. Here is a link that might be useful: Medicare Part D Late Enrollment Penalty

I am embarrassed that I didn't remember that the deductible was 'in there' as part of the annual premiums. (Maybe I'm old?) It's annoying to have to shop Part D *every year*. It's a rare year that one or both of us can stay with the same plan from year to year. Our medications change -- maybe go generic (hahaha). DH's doses change. One plan considers XYZ Med a Tier Two; another says it is Tier Three. Each plan has its 'preferred' pharmacy chain. (Most years our plans have *different* preferred pharmacies -- two trips required.) Mail order is often more, rather than less. In 2017 I discovered that one of DH's meds costs the same whether the tablet is a 2mg or a 5mg. His MD is fine with buying the 5mg and using a pill splitter to get four doses. BTW, I am giving up on finding a cheaper alternative to Advair. Symbicort is only $25 cheaper per month (retail); I don't know how I'd react to it; and I'm charged the same out-of-pocket for it as for Advair. Good thing I hadn't already spent my 'savings'.

It will depend on the policy where the deductible is paid. Rather than worrying about that I would check each companies formulary to see what they cover for each of your medicines along with any co-pays for that medicine. Reason why I posted the "where" is some consider the co-pay as going to the deductible others want the deductible paid before the co-pay starts. Knowing how much your regular medicines will cost is a good starting point then follow Elmer's suggestion on the ones that you think you may want.