Wow, Just got the renewal notice on Plan D

[REWahoo]

Correct. But please research Advantage Plans before you commit.

Some help with that research, with specifics on the downside of not having the freedom to choose your own doctor or hospital:

As Seniors Get Sicker, They're More Likely To Drop Medicare Advantage Plans

A recent report by the Government Accountability Office, the auditing arm of Congress, adds new weight to criticisms that some health plans may leave sicker patients worse off.

The GAO report, released this spring, reviewed 126 Medicare Advantage plans and found that 35 of them had disproportionately high numbers of sicker people dropping out. Patients cited difficulty with access to "preferred doctors and hospitals" or other medical care as the leading reasons for leaving.

As a follow on, be sure to research the ability/inability to leave an Advantage Plan to return to regular Medicare.

 

[ivinsfan]

Some help with that research, with specifics on the downside of not having the freedom to choose your own doctor or hospital:

As Seniors Get Sicker, They're More Likely To Drop Medicare Advantage Plans



As a follow on, be sure to research the ability/inability to leave an Advantage Plan to return to regular Medicare.

I don't understand this comment you can't get back on regular Medicare without underwriting and you can't pass underwriting with serious health issues..Where are you going to go?

 

[REWahoo]

I don't understand this comment you can't get back on regular Medicare without underwriting and you can't pass underwriting with serious health issues..Where are you going to go?

My guess is they are referring to moving to another, hopefully better, Advantage Plan.

 

[sn2792]

I just received the Annual notice of changes for my Plan D from Humana RX plan. Premium goes up for 2020 from $26.60 a month to $56.60 - 113% increase. All I can say is wow. Time to start researching other plans. We are fortunate (wife and I) that our prescription needs so far are minimal but this is outrageous. I've never seen such an increase year to year in any insurance coverage on my seven decades on this earth.

I saw something on Facebook that Humana subscribers are being moved to a premium plan that is twice as much, but they will be offering a Humana value plan thru Walmart that is a lot less.

 

[Bestwifeever]

I saw something on Facebook that Humana subscribers are being moved to a premium plan that is twice as much, but they will be offering a Humana value plan thru Walmart that is a lot less.

We have the Humana through Walmart plan and went from $23.50 to $56 a month for each of us. Keep us posted if you hear otherwise. ETA I spent $0.00 for prescription drugs so far in 2019.

 

[Bamaman]

My wife takes a bunch of medicines, but 9 of her's are cheap generics. Medicare pays very little on them. But the one controlled substance The State stipulates she's going to take for pain went from $200 to $1200 per month. It's a new generation Tier III drug.

Our last year provider (for our state) is still much, much cheaper than all the others offered here. If they pay for that expensive med, we'll be okay.

 

[rodi]

So... When DH went on medicare 2 years ago we signed him up for the humana/walmart plan because it was the cheapest and he only has one med- generic statins... So basically it was just a way to not get hit with a penalty later for not having the drug plan previously.

Somehow I wasn't paying attention last year and they renewed him to Humana Premier. It jumped by 1/3.

The renewal notice just came out - going from $29.90 to $64.50.

Did I mention the only drug he takes is a generic statin?

We will be changing this year for sure!!!

It looks like there are several plans that are <$20/month in our area for 2020... similar to the prices we paid 2 years ago. On the medicare.gov preview of 2020 plans it will be $13.20/month.

 

[ivinsfan]

So... When DH went on medicare 2 years ago we signed him up for the humana/walmart plan because it was the cheapest and he only has one med- generic statins... So basically it was just a way to not get hit with a penalty later for not having the drug plan previously.

Somehow I wasn't paying attention last year and they renewed him to Humana Premier. It jumped by 1/3.

The renewal notice just came out - going from $29.90 to $64.50.

Did I mention the only drug he takes is a generic statin?

We will be changing this year for sure!!!

It looks like there are several plans that are <$20/month in our area for 2020... similar to the prices we paid 2 years ago. On the medicare.gov preview of 2020 plans it will be $13.20/month.

Yep and I intended to look and see if anything cheaper was available in my state, but naïvely thought costs of the plan had simply risen and it was being passed along. If not for reading here, I would have no idea it's just Humana looking to relieve of my money by being shady.

 

[travelover]

When you switch plans, do you need to notify the old policy provider that you are leaving or does the beginning of the new policy at the new provider cancel the old policy (since Medicare keeps track of all of this)?

 

[REWahoo]

When you switch plans, do you need to notify the old policy provider that you are leaving or does the beginning of the new policy at the new provider cancel the old policy (since Medicare keeps track of all of this)?

No need to notify the old Part D insurer. Your enrollment in the new plan will stop payment to them and you should get a letter confirming the change.

 

[frank]

I signed my brother in law and me up for humana walmart about 6 years ago and the price I think at that time was about 17. mo. I watched my plan every year and changed to the most cost effctive, I ask him if he wanted me to check into it for him a couple of years ago and he said leave it alone, so I did. finally last year the premiums for him were 77.10 month and humana upon automatic renewal over the years just moved him to different more expensive plans. you have to pay attention every year and watch what you are getting.

 

[SonofCohoes]

I’m about to turn 61. I think it’ll take me until I’m 65 to get a handle on this lingo and the seemingly unending puzzle of combinations of coverages to arrive at a palatable premium. Ughhh

 

[marko]

Yes. The Humana Walmart plan is about $13. It is first in line on the Medicare D website.

I saw something on Facebook that Humana subscribers are being moved to a premium plan that is twice as much, but they will be offering a Humana value plan thru Walmart that is a lot less.

 

[H2ODude]

Yes. The Humana Walmart plan is about $13. It is first in line on the Medicare D website.

Yeah, I got the notice that our cost was doubling from ~$30 each to ~$60. Then I used the link to the comparison tool and see that Humana/Walmart offers a $13 a month plan that would cost us about same for the few drugs we take. Deductible of 435 doesn't affect us, not sure even what it is now. What we do take is generic cheap stuff.

 

[Bestwifeever]

Yes. The Humana Walmart plan is about $13. It is first in line on the Medicare D website.

On our Humana Walmart notice just received, we are told "On January 1, 2020, our plan name will change from Humana Walmart Rx Plan (PDP) to Humana Premier Rx Plan (PDP)." We can make changes beginning on October 15--I will definitely check to see if the Humana Walmart Plan is available at $13 (vs the $23.50 it cost us this year and the $52.90 the renamed plan will cost in 2020). Sneaky little buggers if they will offer the same plan but told us otherwise.

ETA just checked https://www.medicare.gov/plan-compare/#/?lang=en to see that the Humana Walmart plan will be $13 with a $435 deductible; the Humana Premiere plan we were automatically being moved to is $53 with a $435 deductible. There are several more reasonably priced plans. Will compare all plans, not just Humana, with DH's generic meds to see where they are covered. It looks like the 2020 rates are set per the Medicare website.

 

[MichaelB]

No need to notify the old Part D insurer. Your enrollment in the new plan will stop payment to them and you should get a letter confirming the change.

I know this is the case when you enroll directly from the Medicare Plan D website. Is it also the case with direct enrollment?

These Plan D shenanigans remind me of Medicare “seamless conversion”, which some insurers were using to automatically enroll policyholders directly into Medicare Advantage plans with a default opt-in and notifications that were not clear and upfront.

 

[REWahoo]

I know this is the case when you enroll directly from the Medicare Plan D website. Is it also the case with direct enrollment?

Good question. I've only changed Plan D carriers using the Medicare.gov website so can't speak to what happens in the case of direct enrollment.

 

[MBSC]

I know this is the case when you enroll directly from the Medicare Plan D website. Is it also the case with direct enrollment?

Yes, regardless of how you enroll, the enrollment in a new Part D plan automatically generates a dis-enrollment of the old plan by the CMS Part D enrollment database.

 

[rodi]

I ran into the insurance agent that signed up DH for medicare in the first place. (She's a regular early morning surfer at the beach I walk my dog at every morning.) She said her phone's been blowing up with clients pissed about the Humana switching people to Humana Premier, from the Humana Walmart plan. She did a deep dive and determined that unless you have the specific needs for the very few drugs that are cheaper on the premier plan, there is NO value to the consumer in staying on the premier plan. She had about 20 customers who were impacted under this humana plan change. She sent out an email to her impacted customers offering to switch them back to humana walmart. Good client service on her part.

She agreed this was a bad move on Humana's part... but probably a lucrative move for them because a lot of people don't pay attention. Which is why she sent out the email.

 

[John Galt III]

I have a question about the 20% coinsurance for certain expensive drugs. My Medicare Advantage plan has the 20% coinsurance stipulation for certain drugs, with * no * capping device, not even the $6,700 max out of pocket. (According to the cs rep, who could be wrong). In other words, one could end up paying huge amounts, for an expensive drug, even if it is 'covered', due to no cap. Does getting a supplement and a part D give me a cap on the 20% coinsurance? Or still no cap? Thanks.

 

[REWahoo]

Does getting a supplement and a part D give me a cap on the 20% coinsurance? Or still no cap? Thanks.

Google "Part D Catastrophic Coverage" and read up on the four phases of Medicare Part D.

 

[youbet]

We have the Humana through Walmart plan and went from $23.50 to $56 a month for each of us. Keep us posted if you hear otherwise. ETA I spent $0.00 for prescription drugs so far in 2019.

Humana is doing some tricky switching and re-naming this year which I find troubling. They renamed the Walmart plan "Walmart Value Plan" and moved the Walmart Plan people to the pricier $56 Humana Premier plan. But you can undo the switch by enrolling in the new "Walmart Value Plan" which I'm doing. It looks like they did some re-naming and unrequested switching just to see who is paying attention.

See page 8 of your "Annual Notice of Changes" regarding the name change. Also, the "Walmart Value Plan" is not mentioned in the "Annual Notice of Changes" and you have to go online (Humana site) to see it. But it's there and available and is basically your current Walmart Plan re-named and now called the "Walmart Value Plan". What shysters! They're running a real shell game this year!

Regarding your (and others) current zero or low drug expenditures, that has no bearing on the premium. It's insurance covering FUTURE needs.

 

[wolf]

Humana is doing some tricky switching and re-naming this year which I find troubling. They renamed the Walmart plan "Walmart Value Plan" and moved the Walmart Plan people to the pricier $56 Humana Premier plan. But you can undo the switch by enrolling in the new "Walmart Value Plan" which I'm doing. It looks like they did some re-naming and unrequested switching just to see who is paying attention.

See page 8 of your "Annual Notice of Changes" regarding the name change. Also, the "Walmart Value Plan" is not mentioned in the "Annual Notice of Changes" and you have to go online (Humana site) to see it. But it's there and available and is basically your current Walmart Plan re-named and now called the "Walmart Value Plan". What shysters! They're running a real shell game this year!

Regarding your (and others) current zero or low drug expenditures, that has no bearing on the premium. It's insurance covering FUTURE needs.

California. AGREE. Walmart. What crooks. The elderly, and least informed people are going to be taken advantage of. Such Greed!

Lucky, we have this great forum. So we can spread the word.

 

[CRLLS]

California. AGREE. Walmart. What crooks. The elderly, and least informed people are going to be taken advantage of. Such Greed!

Lucky, we have this great forum. So we can spread the word.

It is not Walmart that is the crook, It is Humana! They are the ones you have the plan with and send the premiums to.

 

[REWahoo]

It is not Walmart that is the crook, It is Humana!

Exactly.

As I posted earlier, this is not the first time Humana has done this. DW and I were both on a Humana/Walmart part D plan a few years ago that "morphed" into another, higher premium plan. Guess that trick made them some $ from inattentive seniors so they are doing it again.