Do you realize that after you exceed the donut hole you still owe the 20%.

I was just talking to my cousin who is on disability, blind,and a transplant patient. He switched to medicare in January because it was supposed to save him some money. His meds are VERY expensive, and I don't need to tell you transplant patients have to take a lot of meds. When he visits us,I can't believe how many he takes at one time!

He reached the donut hole after 2 months of meds, and reached the catastrophic $5,500 level at 3 months. NOW, his generic scripts are $8 and the primary or non generic are $18, but the drugs that are not on the formulary fall into the 80%/20% plan. Do you realize his monthly drug bill is now $1300. in addition to the $94 medicare premium, and the $400 supplemental premium, and that does not include the Dr. visits that are mandatory, and all the constant testing that transplant patients must undergo?

I'm positive most people don't realize that once you pass the donut hole you still might not be able to afford your meds!

I didn't understand either. I bet my med expenses for the last 20 years didn't exceed $200! So what's the big deal? Then I broke my ankle last Sept. I have good insurance, and everything was covered, but the last 20%. Well guess what? That 20%was $2,500, and the only reason it stopped there was because there's a cap on my insurance policy that says we will not have to pay any more than $2,500 in one year!

NO CANDIDATE has presented a real national health care program, and I have to tell you, when we retire in 2 1/2 years, I just won't HAVE that ex ta money to pay that 20%, and there's NO CAP on the medicare payouts!

WHY won't at least one candidate present a real "national health care plan"? How about Kucinich? I think he knows he doesn't stand a chance of winning the primary or the election. Why not really tell the American people the truth and present a REAL PLaN?

then you die.

Some plan, huh?

I'm no expert on Medicare Part B plans, but I helped my husband sign his elderly mother up last year. We were advised to check out different plans based on her particular medication regimen, because different insurance companies that sell the Part B coverage have different medications on their formularies. There is actually a web site somehwere (sorry, can't remember) that helps you figure out what plan will be best (i.e., cover the most meds) for you. Perhaps if your cousin can get a different plan that covers more of his medications, he could save a little. (It's likely that his very specific medications may not be on anyone's formulary, alas).

This is a truly shitty plan. I was speaking to my mother the other day (who takes Tamoxifen for post-breast cancer, insulin for diabetes, and high-blood pressure meds; I'm not sure what else). Her doctor put her on a new medication last week that is expensive, and she is paying it out of pocket ... because, she said, if she didn't she'd hit the donut in her Medicare and then end up paying way more. At least she has her brain intact and can make these calculations: for many seniors, this is way to complicated to even figure out.

It's that the drug in the formularies are the the standard stuff lots of people take, but not the rarer ones. As your mother found out, if the drug your Dr. thinks will work best for you isn't one of the standard meds, TS for you!

That's the problem with several of the drugs my cousin must take. They are VERY EXPENSIVE! $1,300 for one, $850 for another, and $1,100 for a third one, and they are the ones ouside the formulary. He also pays a lot for the many others that are IN the formulary. There are a total of 24 drugs he buys every month. 3 of them he's getting through the $4.00 Walmart list, the others have a $20-$35 co pay, but if you consider what 20% of the drugs outside the formulary, those 3 drugs cost $650 each month. I really don't understand HOW theya re able to pay all of those costs each month. I mentioned he's blind, and physically is only able to work 3 days a week. Yes he gets a disability check, and makes a few$$in his business, but this whole health care system is crazy!