[Magdalen] health insurance

[Grace Cangialosi]

Yeah, where did that whole "do-nut hole" thing start, anyway? I fell into it last year around October and expect to encounter it again this year.
It absolutely makes no sense...
And I can't imagine what folks do if they're on  expensive meds and have to pay full price for that period of time until they qualify again. I'll bet more than a few of them have to forego the meds.

> On Sep 19, 2015, at 3:58 PM, "Jim Guthrie" <jguthrie at pipeline.com> wrote:
> 
> From: Sibyl Smirl
> 
>> If you were on Medicare (and it's the law that I have to be), you wouldn't want it for "all".  It still has a premium that comes out of my SS check every month, and it still has a co-pay for most things (flu shots are "free") and a bunch of stuff isn't covered.
> 
> My Copays have totaled $68 so far this years, with an average of $50,000 a MONTH charged to Medicare and my Medicare SUpp.
> 
> Fair trade for a few extra years of life and Medicare and Medicare Supp totaling about $240/month in premiums. Albert's is $459 a month with a $25 co-pay.
> 
> Far better than the $1501/month we were paying for COBRA until I could co-ordinate Medicare and the Supp and Albert's insurance, for example (Even though I was on Medicare and engaged the AARP Supp -- Plan F --I had to continue Cobra for Albert. But that month turned out not quite so bad. I needed to be on Lovenox which can by $1500/month as it's not in the Medicare D formulary (though it can get you past the Donut Hole in a Hurry!). Aetna approved a month with a $10 copay with one day to o on the COBRA policy.
> 
> I'm in the Donut hoe now, so the meds that once cost me $40/month are now about $200/month. But the Donut hole is calculated on retail price, not discount price, and the Xeralto that replaced the Lovenox is close to $600/month retail, so I should be out of the donut hole by December at least -- then it starts anew.
> 
> Cheers,
> Jim
>