Darwin Corby

Canadian Pharmacy Brings Outside Perspective to Medicare Part D

There is a lot of confusion right now concerning the Medicare Part D issue. Pressure is mounting because seniors feel they are being forced or intimidated into making a decision with Medicare Part D.

Seniors are panicky, confused and angry at the way Medicare part d is being handled. There are gapping holes in the plan when it is examined closely and most people will not be able to take advantage of the ideal savings because hat ideal savings is based on a specific annual expense.

Here are some facts that may help answer the concerns and make the issue a little clearer.

The Government is enforcing Medicare Part D. Proof of this is evident if considering the penalties individuals will incur by not joining Medicare Part D by May15th. The accumulative 1% penalty (per month) can become expensive over time and looks counter productive. It seems more likely the Government agenda is geared towards herding the public into a central plan and closing the doors for international prescription imports.

Medicare Part D is great if individual retail expenses are exactly $2250 each year. The further away annual costs are from that perfect amount, the less effective the plan is.

Medicare Part D is deceptive because it is presented as a 75% savings when in reality the savings are at best 60% when the perfect amount of $2250 is spent.

Medications that are not insured obviously reduce the savings. If you spend xactly $2250 retail on insured medications then your savings will be significant, probably between 50% and 60%. So who will hit that perfect amount?

Here are some scenarios to consider: (Based on $250 deductible and monthly premiums of $35)

• Spend $1200 on insured medications - Savings will be about 16%
• Spend $3000 on insured medications - Savings will be about 36%
• Spend $4000 on insured medications - Savings will be about 27%

The Perfect Situation:

• Spend $2250 on insured medications - Savings will be 52%

Anyone who is spending more than $2250 on prescriptions each year will be unhappy paying full retail after spending beyond the $2250 mark, and possibly angry when they realize the monthly premiums are still due.

Spokesman for Professional Services Canada Darwin Corby, has this advice:

"Sit down and calculate all your prescription expenses at full retail by phoning a local Pharmacy. Get familiar with your Medicare Part D costs. Add the $250 deductible and monthly premiums together with the %25 not covered in the first $2250. Then add the full retail you will be paying in the doughnut hole on top of your costs. (The doughnut hole is the gap between $2250 and $5100) Subtract the deductible, monthly premiums, doughnut hole expenses and 25% from the savings to find your approximate savings for the year. You also need to understand that reaching the ideal savings is highly unlikely."

A simple webpage chart is provided to help understand Medicare Part D on this page
http://www.medicareaide.com/supplement.html

Recommendations:

Use a Canadian Prescription service to help avoid the Doughnut hole if expenses are high. Join a low cost Medicare Part D plan to avoid the penalties if expenses are low. Enquire about Canadian prescription prices to maximize savings.

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