By Mike Brooks, with the Care Assistance Center
Medicare annual enrollment is right around the corner.
This year’s annual enrollment period to make changes to your Medicare health options is fast approaching. Every year millions of Medicare beneficiaries make changes to their prescription drug coverage and health plans preparing to manage their healthcare costs to the best of their ability.
This year the Care Assistance Center has invested in a revolutionary new tool called the RX Angel to assist our clients with their annual enrollment with Medicare.
The RX Angel takes all the guess work out of choosing
what Medicare plan works best for you.
Got your attention???
Alright then, our RX Angel works like this:
You place each of your prescription(s) into the RX Angel scan tool. The Rx Angel will scan your prescription bottle and record all important details from its label. Once all your medications have been scanned the RX Angel will provide a list of all Medicare drug plans in your zip code and how each one will cover your medications based on costs and pharmacies you prefer to use. Better yet, the RX Angel will list each plan in order from least out of pocket in costs for you to the most, top to bottom.
No guesswork!
No salesman!
No costly mistakes!
Let’s take a look at the importance of using our RX Angel to review your Medicare drug coverage:
Drug Formularies change on plans all the time.
Every year since 2006, when Medicare Part D began, I have asked my Uncle Donald to let me do an annual review of his prescription drug plan. Every year my uncle gave me the same answer, “My plan works just fine. All my drugs are covered well and I don’t want to make any changes.” Not wanting to cross the uncle/nephew boundary I would give in and say ok and that I’m just recommending a review in case something has changed on your plan. Sure enough, during one annual enrollment a few years back his company moved a medication he was taking on the formulary up a tier. After neglecting to do his annual review as I had recommended, he found out in January when he went to the pharmacy that the medication he was used to paying a $7 copay for was now over $100 because it wasn’t covered at the same level as before. Since the enrollment period had ended he was stuck for the entire year with the new higher costs.
Medicare offers new plans.
With new plans available it’s important to see how they compare with your current coverage. New companies offering plans may be more aggressive with their coverage, including better copays and formularies to entice memberships. Why should you miss out on the discounts.
Your needs have changed, or you took the first plan offered.
A lot of times I find my clients took out the first and least expensive drug plan offered by the Medicare supplement company or former employer without having compared costs and coverages to all the other drug plans to choose from. Most recently I gained a new client shopping for a Medicare supplement insurance plan. While reviewing coverages she explained she was offered a Medicare drug plan through the company she carried insurance with while still working. I asked her how many medications she was taking; I was happy to hear she only took one generic cholesterol medication commonly prescribed. When I asked her how much she was paying for her Part D plan, I was surprised to hear she had the enhanced plan with the company she chose and was paying $113/month. You can imagine her shock when I showed her a Part D drug plan with a premium of only $17/month that covers the medication for free.
With a variety of over 20 plans to choose from, dozens of insurance companies trying to sell to you, and changes literally every year to the Medicare Plans coverages, the prescription drug program is the most complicated part of Medicare.
Please contact our office to schedule an appointment to review your prescription drug costs with Medicare or to find out about one of our workshops where we demonstrate the RX Angel live: (919) 518-8237.