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Old 10-20-2020, 07:31 AM   #141
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My DH has been on the phone about an hour with Cigna (on hold at least 30 minutes) trying to figure out why Medicare.gov does not show his drug prices for Cigna. He could never get a straight answer. He is currently with Cigna but he is giving up on them and will go with another company, after all he has 31 choices on Medicare.gov!
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Old 10-20-2020, 07:41 AM   #142
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Originally Posted by harllee View Post
My DH has been on the phone about an hour with Cigna (on hold at least 30 minutes) trying to figure out why Medicare.gov does not show his drug prices for Cigna. He could never get a straight answer. He is currently with Cigna but he is giving up on them and will go with another company, after all he has 31 choices on Medicare.gov!
What's the rush, you have until Dec 7 to make a change, right? See MBSC's post above and wait a couple of weeks for them to correct the website.
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Old 10-20-2020, 10:17 AM   #143
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Cigna sent this email to brokers on Saturday. Quirks like this seem to happen each year so I've started advising those taking prescriptions to wait until November.

"Dear Valued Broker,

We’ve identified an issue with our 2021 prescription drug plans’ (PDP) pricing posted on CMS’ Plan Finder tool (Medicare.gov). The drug pricing posted for our three Cigna and three Express Scripts PDPs is incorrect. While consumers will be able to enroll, neither you nor your customers will be able to fully evaluate 2021 PDP pricing using CMS’ Plan Finder tool (Medicare.gov).

This does NOT impact our MAPD plans for 2021.

We are working diligently to correct the issue and expect to have the pricing corrected on Medicare.gov no later than October 26th. We suggest that you revisit the site on the date listed."
Thanks MSBC. I will cool my heels for a bit.

I'm stressed because her "membership" in part B (to start 1/1/2021) isn't showing up on medicare.gov yet, and I don't want to run out of time to get her set up for Part B, then Part D, and then Medigap before their respective deadlines (she's in a special enrollment period so the regular deadlines may not apply). I just want to get this done and onto the next major stressors - open enrollment for my workplace health insurance, and of course taxes
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Old 10-20-2020, 12:48 PM   #144
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What's the rush, you have until Dec 7 to make a change, right? See MBSC's post above and wait a couple of weeks for them to correct the website.
No particular rush (although I would not recommend waiting until the last minute to make the change) but after talking to the clueless and somewhat rude Cigna employee on the phone this morning DH decided to find a more competent company to deal with. DH takes several prescriptions so he likes to take his time and compare all the plans available to him on Medicare.gov. This year there are 31 plans (less 3 from Cigna that do not show the drug info). It will take him a week or two to make a final decision.
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Old 10-20-2020, 01:03 PM   #145
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Like many others here my Humana Walmart Value RX Part D premium is going up in 2021 from $13.20 to $17.20 per month. I'm switching to Aetna Silver Script SmartRx for $7.20 per month. Currently take zero prescriptions so this plan will work for me.

Same here.
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Old 10-29-2020, 10:01 AM   #146
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Looks like the missing information on the Medicare.gov "Plan Finder" site has been corrected. I went in this morning and chose a new Plan D provider for DW and for me. I went with different insurers as she takes daily prescription meds and I don't, so I simply chose the plan with the cheapest monthly premium. Took about 30 minutes to do both, and almost half of that time was inputting her prescriptions and verifying her drug costs.

This is the first time since we went on Medicare that we've had separate Part D providers but I couldn't see paying an additional $125 a year in premiums simply for consistency.
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Old 10-29-2020, 10:10 AM   #147
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Like many others here my Humana Walmart Value RX Part D premium is going up in 2021 from $13.20 to $17.20 per month. I'm switching to Aetna Silver Script SmartRx for $7.20 per month. Currently take zero prescriptions so this plan will work for me.

It does seem like for folks not taking any prescription meds, and not planning to in 2021, going with the lowest premium is the smart choice. In my case, since I take several meds (one very expensive), it turns out that the lowest premium plan is not the lowest overall annual cost for me.

It looks like I'll be switching away from Humana Walmart Value Rx plan to something else. Several offer a lower projected total annual cost for me for 2021 but not because the premiums are lower, rather because the copay for my expensive drug is lower.

It is a headache figuring out which plan works best each year and then getting your prescriptions transferred, etc.
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Old 11-11-2020, 11:28 PM   #148
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Just a reminder that in addition to mo. premium and cost of drugs, another useful thing to look for is to be sure that you can live w/ any restrictions that may exist. This is found in the detail for each plan near the bottom. My current plan Humana Walmart Value plan in addition to being more expensive for premium and drugs next yr, also has quantity restrictions on several drugs (that I can live with) but a required pre-approval on 1 drug that I don't want to deal with.

The new plan I am looking at will be cheaper and not have those restrictions.
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Old 11-12-2020, 08:10 AM   #149
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Thanks for the reminder kaneohe. I re-checked the plan I chose for my wife, and while it doesn't require prior authorization for any of her prescriptions, it does have quantity limits on a couple (60 vs. 90 and 30 vs. 60). In cases like that, does the pharmacy charge you full retail for the excess amount, or can you not get the extra (required but not covered) quantity?
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Old 11-12-2020, 08:20 AM   #150
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Thanks for the reminder kaneohe. I re-checked the plan I chose for my wife, and while it doesn't require prior authorization for any of her prescriptions, it does have quantity limits on a couple (60 vs. 90 and 30 vs. 60). In cases like that, does the pharmacy charge you full retail for the excess amount, or can you not get the extra (required but not covered) quantity?
You can always get the additional quantity if your doctor prescribes that quantity (using insurance is not mandatory). But it would be up to you to pay for the additional quantity. If the situation applies to you, I would ask you Dr. or Pharmacist to split it into 2 prescriptions (not sure who would have to do it) and attempt to use something like GoodRx for better pricing on the part your insurance will not cover. Depending on the drug, you may also get discounted pricing directly from the manufacturer. Don't just pay for it without looking into your options. Also, retail prices vary from pharmacy to pharmacy. Call around for best pricing.
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Old 11-12-2020, 08:40 AM   #151
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Good to know, thanks PaunchyPirate
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Old 11-12-2020, 08:53 AM   #152
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I will 2nd the use of GoodRX. In some cases they are cheaper than my "plan" pricing.

And don't be afraid to have the prescription transferred to a different pharmacy if you find the GoodRX price is better over there. In one case, the prescription at one pharmacy is 1/2 the price of the other pharmacy, both with GoodRX pricing.
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Old 11-26-2020, 12:22 PM   #153
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Aetna's SilverScript will have a new plan for 2021 called SmartRx. The premium is $7.50 in most states and it's available in all 50 states. $0 deductible for Tier 1, $445 deductible for tiers 2-5. Page 2 of the PDF below lists the actual premium in each state and the preferred pharmacies.

SmartRx: https://nebula.wsimg.com/ae8bb99a2cf...&alloworigin=1

I've been comparing some Part D plans over the past few days. According to the MyMedicare.gov site, for Washington state, King County, there are three Aetna plans, including this SilverScript Smart Rx (#205). The site says the premium is zero for all three Aetna plans--including the two others #060 & 061. I'm assuming that's because I clicked the box that says that I do not currently take any meds. However, the 2021 "Medicare & You" booklet I received says the monthly premiums for those three plans are: $31.30, $75 and $6.30, not zero for any of the three.

Can someone shed some light on this for me? If I change the plan online to #060, will my premium be zero or $31.30? Or should I play it safe and change my current AARP Plan #374 to the Aetna Plan #205 ($6.30/month)?
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Old 11-26-2020, 12:35 PM   #154
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I've been comparing some Part D plans over the past few days. According to the MyMedicare.gov site, for Washington state, King County, there are three Aetna plans, including this SilverScript Smart Rx (#205). The site says the premium is zero for all three Aetna plans--including the two others #060 & 061. I'm assuming that's because I clicked the box that says that I do not currently take any meds. However, the 2021 "Medicare & You" booklet I received says the monthly premiums for those three plans are: $31.30, $75 and $6.30, not zero for any of the three.

Can someone shed some light on this for me? If I change the plan online to #060, will my premium be zero or $31.30? Or should I play it safe and change my current AARP Plan #374 to the Aetna Plan #205 ($6.30/month)?
We also live in King Co. We both will be on Aetna #205 for $6.30/month in addition to the $70 IRMAA for plan D. What ever you are looking at is wrong, none of those plans are $0.

These coverages are all a scam. My wife is going onto a Medicare Advantage HMO for one month in Dec then switching to Plan G with State Farm. The "insurance" cost for her pantoprazole is over $500/mo using the HMO drug card or her current BCBS cobra. Good RX is $12 for 3 months not over $1500. I wonder if the insurance company gets a kick back if they are able to charge $1500 at the Pharmacy using the insurance, when you can walk in without any coverage and buy it so cheap. This is the one area where government should step in and create a fair view of what is really going on. I can see a lot of folks might not check and be paying huge $$$$ for drugs that are cheaper without insurance.
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Old 12-01-2020, 11:32 AM   #155
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I've been using an in person to broker to handle my Medicare stuff. As of today with the outbreak numbers in my county, it's obvious I won't be seeing him in person this year.

I can switch online to Aetna/SS and save a few bucks. Am I too close to the end of signup to pull the trigger on a new plan? Don't want any hiccups...
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Old 12-01-2020, 11:41 AM   #156
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I've been using an in person to broker to handle my Medicare stuff. As of today with the outbreak numbers in my county, it's obvious I won't be seeing him in person this year.

I can switch online to Aetna/SS and save a few bucks. Am I too close to the end of signup to pull the trigger on a new plan? Don't want any hiccups...
As long as you do it before 12/7 you should be good. We went with this plan and are using GoodRx coupons anyway for most meds.
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Old 12-08-2020, 12:06 PM   #157
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For those of you who enrolled in Aetna SilverScript SmartRX, have any of you gotten a bill for January 2021 yet?

Everything went smoothly with enrolling and we've both received our member cards and I registered with Caremark.

I didn't ask for the payment to be taken out of my SS and DH doesn't get SS so we want to set up monthly auto payments.
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Old 12-08-2020, 12:31 PM   #158
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For those of you who enrolled in Aetna SilverScript SmartRX, have any of you gotten a bill for January 2021 yet?

Everything went smoothly with enrolling and we've both received our member cards and I registered with Caremark.

I didn't ask for the payment to be taken out of my SS and DH doesn't get SS so we want to set up monthly auto payments.


I also signed up for the Aetna SilverScript plan. I do not yet draw social security. The back page of the sheet on which your membership card is attached says they will Bill you for your monthly premiums. I have not received a Bill yet either.
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Old 12-08-2020, 01:52 PM   #159
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I signed up for Aetna SilverScript plan and I got a letter today from SS saying they will take it from my SS payment which is what I asked for.
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Old 12-08-2020, 03:55 PM   #160
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I also signed up for the Aetna SilverScript plan. I do not yet draw social security. The back page of the sheet on which your membership card is attached says they will Bill you for your monthly premiums. I have not received a Bill yet either.
How long from when you signed up until you received your membership card?
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