Whether working with Medicare Prescription Drug Plans or Medicare Advantage plans for clients, it is of utmost importance to have a thorough understanding of the medications you take. The reason for this is because every plan has a different formulary (which is another word for a list of medications covered by the plan). If the medication you take is not on the formulary, there is a very good chance that you will pay full price for that medication and that the insurance company does not have to cover it for you.
The other factor that is of equal importance is to know which drug store you like to go to fill your prescriptions. Prescription Drug Plans (also called Part D) or Medicare Advantage plans (also called Part C) always have preferred pharmacies that you are able to go to get the lowest co-pays. Although you are always able to go to any drug store you wish, you will often pay up to five times more than a preferred pharmacy.
When you go to your physician and fill out the necessary paperwork before seeing your doctor, they often ask you what is your preferred pharmacy.
To many and even myself, that sounds like where would you prefer to go to get your medications.
The actual definition is where your prescription drug plan or Medicare Advantage plan PREFER you to go.
Simply put, going where your plan wants you to go will help you save hundreds if not thousands of dollars on your prescriptions.
Although all of this is important to know, it is also of equal or even more importance to keep an updated list of your medications together. Keep that list updated with names of medications, the dosage you take, how many times a day you take the medication, and the name of the physician who prescribed the medication. Any vitamin, supplement, or over the counter medication that you take should also be included on the list. Listing out any allergy that you have to foods, insects, and medications can help protect you from having an allergic reaction and doctors not knowing what you may be reacting to.
Your safety and well being cannot be overemphasized. Your life may depend on the medications you take and taking them properly.
As Michael J. Fox once said, “Family is not an important thing. It is everything.”
Protect your everything!
Terri Trepanier is the owner of Balanced Care Health and Supplemental Insurance and a licensed insurance consultant and broker with Associated Brokers. Licensed in both Maine and NH, her specialty is working with small businesses, individuals, and families with their health and life insurance needs. She is certified to offer health plans both on and off the exchange and is contracted with every health insurance company that offers plans in both New Hampshire and Maine. Her other passion is assisting Medicare beneficiaries with their Medicare Supplemental, Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Plans, and Medicare Advantage plans. Terri has seen firsthand the importance of insurance products and how they help families. Her goal with Balanced Care is to “Insure Security and Peace of Mind One Family at a Time”