Now that I’ve retired, I just have Medicare. No drug coverage because now my two meds are cheap generics. Do I really HAVE to get one of these additional plans?
I always said no to AARP but now I’m wondering.
Once you qualify for Medicare, you MUST also have or get acceptable drug coverage. You earn a penalty for each year you do not have drug coverage. If you later get drug coverage, the penalty is cumulative and you play it even after you get drug coverage. It is only a few $$$, but they are cumulative.
Once you do get drug coverage, you do not have new penalties, but you are still assessed the penalties for each year you did not have drug coverage.
[It is kind of confusing.]
There’s a penalty for NOT having drug coverage if you have Medicare. If you don’t want to pay the penalty FOREVER for a drug plan - buy one of the cheap plans. They just want you to have something... Walmart had one a few years back for $17 a month - didn’t cover a lot but it stopped Medicare from being able to force the penalty amount when you do buy a plan.
Check out page 90 in your Medicare Handbook for 2017... (the handbook is called “Medicare and You” and it’s free.) To request Medicare free publications call 1-800 -633-4227
Check with AMAC before giving AARP money to join. AMAC also has similar options.
The necessity for a secondary is to cover the 20% Medicare doesn’t cover on surgeries, hospital stays, test, Cardio test aren’t cheap, nor are cancer test/treatments, Physio Rehab and medicine. Hubby had a BP spike spent 3 days in the ER as the small hospital had no bed available. $50K the 20% would have been $1,000 out of pocket with out a secondary. My ER trips for drug reactions peg in at about $20K each if they don’t keep me for observation. Thumb surgery came in around $60K. Hubby’s partial knee about the same.
The 2% SS COLA raise we got this year nearly all went to Medicare. I got $1.00 more per month, the other $133 went to Medicare Premiums.
We are Medicare/Tricare Life as hubby is 20 yr career Navy Ret. SCPO. While we have freedom of doctors/hospitals, meds are another story, DoD Mandates that daily meds are Base Pharmacy or Express Scripts. Cumbersome process. ER scripts or 1 time ones can go to Private pharmacy that excepts Tricare. Co-Pays went up again this year too. Many meds were dropped off the Formula, and are no longer covered by Tricare Life. Nexium got nixxed, ES won’t cover it. They will now only cover Prilosex, Protonix/Aciphex, can’t take any of the 3. Now have to go OTC out of pocket. ES changes DAW’s to generics and no granutee that you get the same med each time. That is a problem for those with med reactions. Not all generics are equal to Name Brand in strength.