Figuring Out the Right Supplement

This time of year for the past 4 years has been the time for trick or treaters, gold and red leaves, brisk evenings and choosing Medicare supplements.  This particular year, your choice is extremely important.

With the economy sagging and prices for almost everything rising, there is little extra money for mistakes or unwise choices.  In addition most Medicare supplements are raising their premiums and tightening their coverage.

It is important to purchase a Medicare supplement because paying premiums is usually less costly than paying for your medication and other necessary medical procedures or equipment.  In addition, many people who do not have Medicare supplements and/or prescription drug coverage and, as a result, take less than the prescribed doses of medication could be risking their lives.

In order to determine which supplement is a good choice for you, there are a few things to think about.  First of all, list all your medications and the cost of each one per month.  If any of them are not on Wal Mart, Target or your local grocer’s $4 per month list, find out from your doctor or pharmacist if there is a generic or another comparable medicine that you can take instead that would keep you healthy and only cost you $4.  Secondly, determine how much the medications that you can’t get at a low price are costing you per month.  Talk to your doctor and pharmacist and see if there is a better price you can get – either through the pharmacist you already know or by checking with other pharmacies.  My granddaughter’s $179 per month prescription now costs me a much more affordable $49 per month because I found a small pharmacy with low overhead and a pharmacist who was willing to listen to me.  This could happen for you, too, if you compare prices and talk to the pharmacist.  Get to know the pharmacist so that you can work with them and they can work with you to try to keep bills low.

Thirdly, add up the monthly total of all the medications you take, after you have negotiated the new, lower prices with the pharmacist and through your doctor’s help.  If the total is low – especially because you are able to get the $4 per month prescriptions, you might want to get a supplement that is relatively inexpensive and will cover your overage.  If the total is high, you should look at a supplement that will cover as much of your medication bills for the year as possible.  The premiums will most likely cost less than paying out of pocket, and the supplement will cover other things as well.

Last, but not least, talk to a trusted friend who knows how the supplements work.  Go onto the Medicare website at www.medicare.gov and look at supplement plans.  Go onto the net and compare coverage and prices, and go to the local hospital or senior center and attend any of the seminars they have to help people understand Medicare supplements. 

Do the research you need to do now so that you won’t have a problem later.