Medicare Part D changes for 2024

Yep, go the letter that I go down to the 50 cent rate...


Any changes seem very minor and I have an expensive drug so I am well past the deductible amount anyhow...


Wonder if I will pay the full year or monthly... :LOL:
 
Our Aetna Silver Script is going from $7.10 to $9.90, so a 40% increase. But, the deductible is going down and the copay is going down for a couple of the generic drugs I take.

I'll be looking for a new policy since an eye drop the doctor prescribed is crazy expensive. I told her I'd look at new Part D plans and "might" go with the prescription next year.
 
I have several prescriptions, so I’ve been on the Aetna no deductible plan for $77.70, which is going up to $98.20 with a deductible for tier 3 and higher drugs.
DW currently pays $5.80 for her Aetna plan and it’s going up to $11.60.
 
Me: Aetna, Silverscript plan $7.40 --> $12.30
Dw: Wellcare, Value script: $11.20 --> $0.50

Bottom line for me: both are quite cheap and our total cost is going down (based on monthly fees), BUT as everyone knows the devil is in the details when one adds in prescription costs. We're on different plans because the Medicare web-based total cost algorithm told us this was the lowest cost way of getting our regular scripts. So we'll wait until Medicare updates that program later in the year and make a decision based on its recommendation. It's always a crapshoot because any unexpected new prescriptions not factored into the analysis.
 
CardsFan said:
Am I the only one that thinks the Wellcare Value Script prices might be a mistake?
Click to expand...

I have Wellcare Value Script, but I haven't received the Annual Notice of Change in the mail yet. Nor is it posted on the website (at least not for my NC plan) yet.

I only take one prescription med, which coincidentally I will be finished with on 11/1/23.

I'm waiting to see the actual ANC before assuming my new cost will be $.50.
 
CRLLS said:
I am also on the Wellcare Value Script plan. I received a letter saying my plan will go from $8.10 to $0.00. That is not a mistype on my part. It really says zero. I'll have to wait until Oct 15th to find if my preferred pharmacy will change.

My brochure says that during the deductible stage, drugs on tier 1 are $5 or $0 and drugs on tier 2 are either $10 or $2. Both down from 2023.
Click to expand...

Live in California. Wellcare. Received the same premium notice. Was $8.10
New $ 0.

But as others have mentioned deductible went up. Will have to wait and see what Tier 1 drugs will cost. (for 2023, all of wife's/mine generic Tier 1 drugs free).

When I started "Jardiance" diabetes drug, think Tier 6. I was charged deductdible $500+, then cost droped to $10 month.

Will have to wait till 10/15....and medicare.gov again....
 
Per their "2024 Annual Notice of Changes" received in the mail today, my Aetna SilverScript SmartSaver (PDP) Part D plan will close to triple!


The increase will be from $10.90/month to $31.00/month in 2024.
I'm in New York. Time to start shopping around, come October ?
 
Dabbler said:
Per their "2024 Annual Notice of Changes" received in the mail today, my Aetna SilverScript SmartSaver (PDP) Part D plan will close to triple!


The increase will be from $10.90/month to $31.00/month in 2024.
I'm in New York. Time to start shopping around, come October ?
Click to expand...

Sounds like you should look into WellCare based on what others have reported.
 
At $0.50 per month, it hardly pays for the cost of handling a single transaction, let alone covering the cost for actual coverage.

They might as well say, we'll cover anyone at anytime, no matter if you signed up with us or not. All that being facetious, of course, but not far from sincere. Next year's total premium with Wellcare Value Script is either $0 or $6 based on report here, including mine. Really, how can they do that?
 
CRLLS said:
At $0.50 per month, it hardly pays for the cost of handling a single transaction, let alone covering the cost for actual coverage.

They might as well say, we'll cover anyone at anytime, no matter if you signed up with us or not. All that being facetious, of course, but not far from sincere. Next year's total premium with Wellcare Value Script is either $0 or $6 based on report here, including mine. Really, how can they do that?
Click to expand...

The only way I can think of that makes this work is they are paying less for the drugs than they are charging.

Can they legally do this? I don't know.

The only other way it could work is if this year is a loss leader. Get a bunch of folks to sign up, then hope they don't leave next year when you raise the rates. But I am not sure if an insurance company can even do this, legally.

So, I am back to my earlier comment. Is it possible they had an error in the software that generated these ANC's?

I have tried to search on-line to see if there are any news reports about this. So far nothing.
 
CRLLS said:
At $0.50 per month, it hardly pays for the cost of handling a single transaction, let alone covering the cost for actual coverage.

They might as well say, we'll cover anyone at anytime, no matter if you signed up with us or not. All that being facetious, of course, but not far from sincere. Next year's total premium with Wellcare Value Script is either $0 or $6 based on report here, including mine. Really, how can they do that?
Click to expand...


Part D is subsidized (at least from what I read) and I guess that they increased the subsidy a good amount this past year...
 
CardsFan said:
The only way I can think of that makes this work is they are paying less for the drugs than they are charging.

Can they legally do this? I don't know.

The only other way it could work is if this year is a loss leader. Get a bunch of folks to sign up, then hope they don't leave next year when you raise the rates. But I am not sure if an insurance company can even do this, legally.

So, I am back to my earlier comment. Is it possible they had an error in the software that generated these ANC's?

I have tried to search on-line to see if there are any news reports about this. So far nothing.
Click to expand...
In my post, I mentioned that I called the customer line at Wellcare, to verify that the $.50/mo. for 2024 was NOT a misprint. That was one of the first things I did after receiving the ANC in the mail, as it seemed doubtful. It's not a mistake.
 
I thought in the years to come the coverage gap on drugs was supposed to disappear. Is that incorrect or did it get changed? every year the coverage gap seems to go up and the yearly cost for drugs more and more expensive.
 
Telly said:
In my post, I mentioned that I called the customer line at Wellcare, to verify that the $.50/mo. for 2024 was NOT a misprint. That was one of the first things I did after receiving the ANC in the mail, as it seemed doubtful. It's not a mistake.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I guess I missed your earlier comment.

Now I guess we wait until after Oct. 15 to see how the pharmacies and formulary's have changed.
 
frank said:
I thought in the years to come the coverage gap on drugs was supposed to disappear. Is that incorrect or did it get changed? every year the coverage gap seems to go up and the yearly cost for drugs more and more expensive.
Click to expand...
So did I! In the name of increasing profits, did they all agree to "faggedaboutit"?
I looked in the 2024 Wellcare Value Script ANC. For Coverage Gap and Catastrophic Coverage Stages, it says to look at Chapter 4, Sections 6 and 7, in the Evidence of Coverage. On the website. But the E of C they have up there is for calendar year 2023. Maybe magic will happen for 2024... :rolleyes:
 
CRLLS said:
From other sites, the next step is the "Catastrophic Stage" (a Medicare term). This occurs when the total you pay plus the drug plan's share reaches $8,000. This has changed from a 5% Copay to a full coverage, i.e. no copay.
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That's a huge change for people on expensive drugs. I'm on 2 pricey cancer drugs, roughly $30k per month. Through 2023 you had to pay about a $7400 deductible before you got to the "Catastrophic" level, and 5% copay after that.

Well 5% of $30k is $1500 per month! With the deductible it ended up being over $25k per year, out of pocket, AFTER insurance. Ouch!

Fortunately my oncologist yelled at the drug companies and they meekly send me my drugz 100% free. :dance:

With the new rules, it looks to me like $8000 per year is the worst you can have. So if I get switched to new drugs, they might not be free, but $8k per year is a lot better than $25k per year.
 
I have Medicare drugs through WellCare, too. My experience is that WellCare sniffs wet mongoose farts. Of course, whenever we give gummint something to do, they will screw it up. Like UNIVERSAL HEALTH COVERAGE! But it can't be any more screwed up than the non-system we operate with in the USA.

WellCare surprised me when my annual premium was reduced, a couple of years back. But it's not a big amount, anyhow. But the diabetes drug my doctor wanted to put me on? $400/month? That's not just a bad joke. That's an insult to everyone who needs it. So, we use the old reliable cheaper pill. But it is less effective. And my inhalers are prohibitively expensive on WellCare, too. So I buy them in Canada. And I pay the RETAIL cost. Still, it's cheaper than using my useless WellCare insurance Plan. ...But we are all REQUIRED to have a Drug plan. When that whole thing was initiated in '08 or '09, it was a total sell-out to the Pharma and Insurance companies. It all sucks mud.

These insurance companies are being allowed by gov't to choose who will live or die, based on whomever THEY will allow to get hold of the drugs that people need. So, we get fleeced by the insurance companies, and we are also taking it in the shorts from government---- which is the Authority of Last Resort. They (gummint) are SUPPOSED to be looking out for us, not letting insurance companies have their way with us. Gummint is simply not doing for us what gummint is supposed to do. And we are all suffering for it, to one degree or another. And I don't care which Party you might or might not belong to.
 
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Ours is going to be decreased to .50¢ also and deductible went up 40$.
 
wolf said:
Live in California. Wellcare. Received the same premium notice. Was $8.10
New $ 0.

But as others have mentioned deductible went up. Will have to wait and see what Tier 1 drugs will cost. (for 2023, all of wife's/mine generic Tier 1 drugs free).

When I started "Jardiance" diabetes drug, think Tier 6. I was charged deductdible $500+, then cost droped to $10 month.

Will have to wait till 10/15....and medicare.gov again....
Click to expand...
We also received the reduction to zero from $10.60 premium. Pharmacy benefit manager will change from CVS Caremark to Express Scripts.
 
wmc1000 said:
We also received the reduction to zero from $10.60 premium. Pharmacy benefit manager will change from CVS Caremark to Express Scripts.
Click to expand...
You have my deepest sympathy.
 
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