Re: Changes to Medicare rose
- From: "rose" <rosedawn_scott@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: 29 Nov 2005 08:07:32 -0800
QQQte@xxxxxxxxx wrote:
> rose with shame i must admit that i've not read anything on the new
> medicare plans... i've lost confidence in my ability to understand what
> the heck it all means...
hi Dory, you're not alone; i think more people are confused by the new
Medicare stuff than not, still. the amount of time you've got to enrol
in the plan of your choice before they automatically enroll you in one
of their random choosing has been extended, so you've got till April to
make a choice before they begin penalizing you for being late. (after
the end of the enrollment period, you can still select a plan of your
own, but you'll have to pay more, and the penalty for late enrollment
stays with you -- you'll be paying more throughout than you would if
you selected a plan by 5/06.
> i need my meds as they add more quality to my life.. without them i
> would be robbed of any reason to go on in this life...
>
> for the most part i don't need to see the doc about my ms... i know my
> ms better than they do and know what i need and can tell them and i
> do...
>
> on the other hand i have a couple of other medical problems that must be
> attended to if i am to live.....
Dory, one of the choices we can make (the one i made personally) is to
join a "stand-alone" Part D prescription coverage plan, and leave the
Medicare A&B alone. this would mean that you'd be able to continue
seeing the doctors of your choice without having to go through a
'gatekeeper,' and your prescription coverage would be a separate issue.
if that's the way you want to go, the Part D stand-alone prescription
plans differ in the meds that they cover (other than benzodiazepens,
which are excluded from the entire Medicare Formulary at the Federal
level), so you'd want to make sure the ones you take are included in
the plan.
you CAN figure this out by going to medicare.gov and looking at the
different plans offered, BUT, that involves clicking around to the
various plans themselves and checking their formularies yourself, and
that kind of thing (for me at least) gets REALLY confusing.
> i've thought of calling and asking my hmo to send someone to my house so
> i can discuss and ask questions about a plan that will suit my medical
> needs....
that would be great, if the neuro agreed! if it turns out not to be
possible, then i'd say call your local chapter of the M.S. Society, and
see if they have a person or persons who deals with helping folks with
M.S. figure out their Medicare options. the San Diego Society -- now
the "Pacific Coast M.S. Society" or something, we merged with Riverside
chapter recently -- DOES offer this service, and it's a god-send.
pharmacists are being given information on Part D as well, so the
pharmacist where you fill your prescriptions may even have some kind of
assistance available in helping you figure out which plans cover YOUR
specific meds. our local M.S. Society chapter does send chapter reps to
your home to help you IF you are considered 'homebound.' otherwise,
they go through it with you on the phone. you'd have to check and see
how your own local chapter does it. if you can get your neuro to send
someone out, that seems like it would be ace!
> i think i'll come see you so you can confront me about being a coward
> OK? :-)
> dory
a coward?? nah! just confused, like most of us are, were, have been, or
will be, while trying to figure out what the current Medicare haps
are!! :->
rose
.
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- Re: Changes to Medicare
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- Re: Changes to Medicare rose
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