Part D Prescription Drug Plans (PDPs) are a boon to Medicare beneficiaries faced with increasing drug costs.  Prior to 2006, little, if any, help was available.  Even so, seniors’ biggest complaint is the coverage gap or “donut hole,” followed closely by confusion about plans and changing drug formularies. 

Depending on your PDP, your drug costs are federally subsidized until you have $2,700 in shared drug costs—about $600 in true out-of-pocket (TrOOP) cost to you.  Then you’re in the donut hole until your TrOOP cost equals $4,350 in 2009. 

For most of us, the best strategy is to stay out of the donut hole.  Here’s how:

¨ Use generic drugs when available.  Generics can save you as much as 75% while offering similar benefits

¨ Consult with your doctor and pharmacist.  Find out if any drugs you are taking could be eliminated safely.  And take your drug plan’s list of preferred drugs on your next doctor’s visit.  Ask him to help you find safe, lower cost options.

¨ Split double-dose pills in half?  Not unless your doctor approves.  This cost-saving measure depends on the availability of scored pills (with a line running through the middle) and your dexterity with a pill cutter.

¨ Don’t stop taking medications or reduce your dosage.  A recent study revealed that those who cut back on their prescriptions because of cost were 76% more likely to suffer a significant decline in overall health and 50% more likely to have a heart attach, stroke or chest pain episode than those who had not cut back.

¨ Use mail-order pharmacies approved by your plan to save money on 90-day supplies of prescription drugs.

¨ Check out Wal-Mart’s $4 prescription drugs at www.wal-mart.com.  Click on Pharmacy, then $4 Prescriptions Program, and finally Prescription Medications by Category.  You  may find your medication on Wal-Mart’s list for less than your drug plan charges.  If so, you can buy those drugs off-plan at Wal-Mart, saving your Plan D benefits for higher-priced drugs.

These tactics may help you save money and avoid the coverage gap altogether.  Taking charge of your own health by partnering with your doctor and pharmacist is a smart choice. 

For more information on extra help for low-income challenges, visit www.medicare/gov.

Some people try to turn back their odometers.  Not me. I want people to know “why” I look this way.  I’ve traveled a long way and some of the roads weren’t paved.

Eventually you will reach a point when you stop lying about your age and start bragging about it.

When you are dissatisfied and would like to go back to youth, think of algebra.

The older we get, the fewer things seem worth standing in line for.

 

You know you are getting old when everything either dries up or leaks.

I don’t know how I got over the hill without getting to the top.

One of the many things no one tells you about aging is that it is such a nice change from being young.

One must wait until evening to see how splendid the day has been.

Being young is beautiful, but being old is comfortable.

And finally, if you don’t learn to laugh at trouble, you won’t have anything to laugh at when you are old.