Category Archives: Medicare Part D

New Site for Medicare Part D Comparisons

by Mary Jane Stern One very time consuming project during the 2008 open enrollment was finding a new Medicare Part D plan. I began by using Medicare’s site so I could find all the stand alone plans in my state. This was good and got all the plans and the premiums. But, after finding the…

Unconscionable Increases for 2010 Medicare Part D

by Mary Jane Stern October 1st starts the official marketing by the insurance companies for Medicare Advantage and Part D Plans. It’s time for you to make a comparison. Needless to say, plans that were affordable during 2009 are now increasing monthly premiums for 2010. We enrolled in AdvantraRX for 2009 because the premiums and…

Will Insurance Reform Hurt Medicare Beneficiaries

Over the last few weeks there have been many “Town Hall” meetings to discuss insurance reform here in the USA. Sadly, at many of these meetings violence has been demonstrated, death threats have been made, and statements eluding Medicare benefits will change. No Discrimination Since 1998 we have been waiting for the day insurance reform…

50% Discount for the Part D Donut Hole

by Mary Jane Stern Sometime over the weekend of June 18th a proposal was presented to our Senators regarding Medicare Part D and the donut hole by PhRMA, the brand-name drug manufacturers’ lobbyist. What they are proposing is to offer a discount to Medicare Part D participants when they reach the donut hole. The discount…

Does Medicare Cover Diabetic Supplies

Recently it was reported that obesity was becoming the number one health problem in the USA. With obesity comes the danger of diabetes. If you have been diagnosed as being diabetic, Medicare Part B covers diabetic supplies and services. Do not use your Part D Medicare benefit for these supplies. Medicare has contracted with various…

My Medicare.Gov – A Great Online Service

As an Original Medicare beneficiary you can sign up for a free and secure online service called My Medicare.gov. This service allows you to access your Medicare information and you have access about all of your benefits and services. First you need to register to have access. It's easy to register and fill out the…

Do You Know About Medigap?

Have you reached age 65? Finally my husband reached the age that he could purchase a Medigap plan. Our fingers became uncrossed as we had no major events, only a few minor ones. We signed up for the Medigap Plan F. So what's a Medigap plan? Medigap is a standalone plan that covers what Medicare…

Which Medicare Benefit Is Right For You?

Several years ago I became involved with Medicare as a result of my husband's disability and I had to learn which Medicare benefit and hopefully a Medigap plan were right for us. I spent many hours at http://medicare.gov to make the best decision for his healthcare and how much this was going to cost. (more…)

Medicare D My Experience with Humana Medicare

Before joining Medicare D, I had to sit down and make a list of all of my husband's prescriptions. I can tell you at that time, he was on 10 or maybe 11 different drugs. I calculated an estimated retail cost of about $8,000 - $10,000 per year and that was dependent upon discontinuing a…