Thank you for sharing information. There are two companies in Texas with the cheap plans you mention, and I actually signed up with one, but have cancelled it since it appears they are designed to only cover "maintenance" drugs and not anything else. I had a bad cold for two weeks just before Christmas and after treating myself over-the-counter with little improvement, I went to the urgent care clinic and got three very common generic RXs. All 3 were less than $20 with a discount card. One was $3, one $12, and one just over $4. To see what it would have been under one of these plans, I looked them up. The only one that was covered was Flonase nasal spray, but all were only available through mail order. Prednisone had to have a form completed and sent in for a determination whether it would be covered under Plan B or Plan D, based on how it will be used. If it's determined to be a Plan D drug, then you have to send in a pre-authorization request. The last one, a generic to help alleviate coughing was not covered at all by any plan. Mail order would take weeks. I needed them that day for this cold I'd had for 2 weeks already. I have no conditions and don't expect to ever need a maintenance drug, but certainly not for years to come, and unless I'm in considerable pain/discomfort without it, I probably won't take it anyway.
I know, if I ever want to get into a plan later, the premium will be more, but let's say I don't need it for 5 years. That's $900 I will have paid in premiums, while purchasing my own drugs in cash anyway. On top of the premiums, there is also an almost $500 deductible to meet. That $900 can go a long way to paying for any drug that I might eventually take or those "temporary" drugs I might need immediately as I did for this cold. It would also pay years of premiums, even if by then it is $50/mo. I know we never know, but it just seems that when they tell you that you can only get mail order on the Tier 1 and Tier 2 drugs that are covered, Tiers 3 & 4 are not covered at all, and you are going to pay more with the plan than without anyway, why would you? Even the customer service reps I spoke to said they didn't see any benefit I would ever get from any of the plans, until I paid $100s, if not $1000s first.
I'll think I'll just put this money in a savings account and have it to pay for drugs I may ever want to take. I think it is imperative, or at least beneficial, for people who have the usual senior issues like high blood pressure, diabetes, cognitive, visual, hearing or other issues, or a family history of same. I am pretty lucky. At 68, I don't even wear glasses, have no diseases, or weaknesses, other than orthopedic. I am an orthopedic's dream. But with nearly a dozen orthopedic surgeries, I have not taken any Rx drugs. Ibuprofen is my pain-killer of choice and works fine. My major expectation is cancer, since that does run in my family, but if I treat it, with chemo or radiation (a big if) then it would be covered as treatment and not drugs anyway on Part B.
I guess my problem is that I'm just not a drug taker. Now that I'm not working, there is even less reason, since if I don't feel well, I can just stay home and take it easy. No need to medicate to be able to function better, faster. I just feel like, for me, in my health condition, and with my aversion to long-term drugs, it feels like throwing money away to pay premiums to a company that will never provide me any service.
P.S. Even without a discount card, should such things cease to be available, most common drugs can be purchased less with cash than with insurance. I have looked at most drugs I have ever taken or considered taking. The example I gave of my drug occasionally taken for Restless Leg Syndrome, that I get 90 pills for $11 with discount card, is only $36 without card, but is $159-$236 on insurance (depending on plan). I am probably the exception, but feel it's a better solution for me to do without Part D insurance until they come up with some more reasonable drug plans.
Don't you all just hate having to do all this research and decision making. We shouldn't have to stress like this in our old age.
