🤔 Are You Satisfied With Your Part D? Or Want To Change?

11 replies
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I look forward to EVERY October 15th when I get to SEE what my "current" Plan D provider will be CHARGING me for the NEXT YEAR.

(1) Do you "check" the famous Medicare Site to COMPARE plans?

(2) Or use another option like a Broker maybe?

(3) I use to travel to my local office of aging to sit with them and do this.

But moving forward, will be doing the comparison myself on the Medicare Site. I have ALWAYS had an "online" account since turning 65.

Lol, wish me luck!!! 🤞

Take Care,

Nicole (Medicare Forum)

T

TRL1111

Community Champion ⭐

I was very surprised to see one in network but not preferred pharmacy actually was $80 cheaper a month than the three preferred pharmacies for the same drug.

I don't know if it’s unique to Wellcare, but this “preferred” pharmacy thing is tricky. People automatically assume the costs will be lower at a “preferred” pharmacy. When picking pharmacies to compare, Medicare even has a box to check that will show only “preferred” pharmacies. But if you click on the little “i” in the circle, it says “Preferred in-network: Usually offers the lowest costs for drugs.” USUALLY.

I can tell you that on Wellcare’s Value Script plan, in Austin, two drugs that are Tier 4 are significantly cheaper at a local pharmacy that’s in network but not preferred than they are at the “preferred” pharmacy. And yet the website lets you click on a box that would prevent that from being revealed.

By splitting it up and filling six drugs at Walgreens and two drugs at the non-preferred pharmacy, a person can save $500 over the course of a year over what he would pay at Walgreens if he had them all filled there.

I like the plan finder, and it’s absolutely essential in order to do any real comparing, but this is really really foul to me. I know most people don’t get as granular as I do when it comes to comparing Part D plans, but that check box makes it so they won’t even accidentally notice something and grok that they could save real money by using a NON-PREFERRED pharmacy.

SummerOnTheWay1Author

[Monday 10/12/26]

The 15th is finally arriving THIS WEEK.

➡️[*** Are you changing plans?

I am HOPING to find a Standalone Part D within my budget. 🤞

Have Wellcare THIS YEAR (and last year) at "zero" premium & prescription costs.

Already got "notified" MY PLAN will be $5.30 premium. Have NOT "checked" my two Blood Pressure meds & Chlolestral med as yet on the MEDICARE SITE.

Dreading what that cost will be. 😱😭

Lol, gives me an INCENTIVE to get off them with lifestyle CHANGES. 😅

I have the Original Medicare with nothing extra.

Good Luck All for 2027. 🤞

Take care,

Nicole (Medicare Forum)

T

TRL1111

Community Champion ⭐

Dreading what that cost will be. 😱😭

The plan finder is operational for 2027. You should check before dreading. With two drugs I know of, Wellcare is moving them from Tier 4 to Tier 1, so they’ll be free in 2027 instead of coinsurance. The premium is going from $0 to $5.30. The total cost for these drugs plus premium will be a LOT lower in 2027, even with the increased premium.

All this wailing about impending disaster in 2027 has, in most cases, been for naught. What I see most often is people who have, say, a $75 plan have gotten notice that the premium is going up to like $150 and they’re panicking. For no reason, because those people don’t have to keep that plan, and in some cases, were on that expensive plan for no reason because their drugs would be similarly covered under a much cheaper plan. Or in some cases, they don’t take any drugs at all and yet were on an expensive plan.

ETA: The plan finder is live, but the usual advice is to check again after October 15 (I’d actually suggest more like November 1) to make sure nothing has changed.

C

CBtoo

Conversationalist ⭐⭐⭐

LOTS of people are dreading looking to see what was done as nearly all the earlier news was pretty much bad news. Don’t criticize her for what many are doing - eg dreading. Judgements like this are not helpful. And nobody knew, including agents, that this was going to be (mostly) not as bad as was predicted until the actual information came out, None of us have ESP so people are justified to “wail”. Take a look at several threads where many people were complaining. There are ways to be helpful with comments without putting people down.

SummerOnTheWay1Author

[Wednesday 9/23/26 12:14pm ET]

I have had Wellcare for my Standalone Part D for TWO YEARS. I am 68. My 1st provider raised their costs & it was time to go. 😉

So far I have had ZERO COSTS from Wellcare for premiums & meds.

NOT sure why, but been VERY GRATEFUL!!!

Now I am DREADING the 2027 "changes" I hear are coming our way = money for us to pay. 😞

I am HOPING to stay with Wellcare, but will look at the OTHERS if Wellcare "decides" to begin charging me in 2027.

Good Luck All with 2027,

Nicole!

C

CBtoo

Conversationalist ⭐⭐⭐

The underlying issue is that the subsidy for medicare D was ended a year early (it was $16/mo) and so that money goes away. As a result companies are increasing premiums and/or changing tiers and/or switching from a fixed co-pay to the percent of the drug co-pay. The other issue was the cost of some of the drugs that are being used a lot and losing some money over that (all the D’s are for profit companies that I know of).

Of course for some people who take few to no drugs or took some and the total cost was less than $5.30/mo (welcare) then they are paying more for sure. I was shocked to see that my kidney stone med went from around $34/mo to $0/mo.

As far as I know Wellcare’s Value plan is $5.30/mo nation wide. Your best bet is do as you were planning to do and use medicare.gov, put in your drugs and various pharmacies and see which one is overall cheapest.

The other thing to look at on medicare.gov is click on drugs and then look down to pharmacies you have chosen. I was very surprised to see one in network but not preferred pharmacy actually was $80 cheaper a month than the three preferred pharmacies for the same drug. This means for me that I am actually going to pay less next year despite now having a premium that I didn’t have simply because the cost of the one drug went to zero. Who knew? Not what I was expecting based on all the news media speculations.

SummerOnTheWay1Author

@CBtoo thank you SO MUCH for your "respectful" response my friend. Some people on this site just DONOT "respect" boundaries. And I am "choosing" NOT to "kudo" theor response to me or reply. Sad some people have NO people skills or compassion. Everyone have a GREAT night!!! Nicole 🙃

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