Add me on to the WellCare enrollees. I’m simple, two (free) meds. Right now 40 cents a month.
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I have had WellCare for 2 years and will continue next year. The first year the premium was $11.50; in 2024 it is $.50. For 2025 it drops to zero! My cholesterol med is free, and the only other med I take is $15 for 3 months. Currently the best plan for me.
Before 2024, my mother was paying over $100/month. She has saved a bundle switching to WellCare. The only thing not a bargain is her inhaler, which is about $30 self pay. Still saving over $1000/year with WellCare.
I have convinced many friends to switch!
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Our Medicare broker gave us a tip when choosing WellCare - she said don’t provide a telephone number because they’ll call a lot in an effort to convince you to sign up for their Medicare Advantage. We don’t answer our phone for unknown or “Healthcare” numbers, so we weren’t worried about it.
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Same here, $0 both last year and going forward. The two prescriptions DH and I have are both no-cost.
The problem is that you choose the least-cost coverage for current drugs, but you have no way to know what expensive drugs you may need before you can change plans.
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We have a land line that I use a lot, and it also has an answering machine. It is worth it for me to have this phone - I like talking into it better than a cell phone, I like that I can screen lots of junk calls because when I hear the familiar ‘click’ from these call centers, I can just hang up. Appointment phone calls come in to my land line phone, and I don’t get interrupted answering my cell phone elsewhere. I still get a few ‘possible scam’ on my cell phone, and those are few and far between. I like having my cell phone with calls I make long distance and the other cell phone conveniences.
I do now need to check for Part D for both DH and me for 2025 enrollment/changes. 2024 DH had WellCare while I had Cigna. Not checking today because it is my birthday! I already have things to do today that I wanted to do last week - but contractor just delivered the contract for interior work redo yesterday. Got a few surprises on my ‘to do’ list. Dug out the spare wood flooring from our attic space, but it turns out those were from original wood flooring (1992). We had wood floor replaced in 1998 (pre-water pressure regulator, which original plumber did not advise us on - the city allowed a ‘water hammer’ to happen with turning on the new development part of our neighborhood, and it blew out our downstairs water heater, under the stairs). We also had an additional room with wood flooring (from this contractor) in 2013 – they got the material, no problem. But I have no ‘sample’ of the matching 1998 and 2013 material, so off to the flooring store I go.
I loaded up our checking account for the upgrades we are doing on our house with current insurance work - and I never expected this to draw out past my birthday. I will contemplate with DH on what to continue to do on the house while we have the funds readily available and are somewhat used to having the house be a wreck.
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Happy birthday, SOS!
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I am meeting with my advisor tomorrow. Earlier this week we learned H has a fairly aggressive cancer and that has significantly changed our future planning. We are finishing up work on our “new to us” home, will get our existing home on the market and move at the end of the month. It has been a fairly stressful year, to say the least. I’m not quite sure what kind of expenses I should be thinking of/planning for. Surgery and treatment will be taking place over the mountain, so undoubtedly travel expense will rise. Our other expenses will drop drastically. We had planned to head to Arizona for a vacation but obviously that is on hold. Not quite sure what else I should be thinking about.
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@sabaray - I’m so sorry. Sending you hugs and positive thoughts for you and your family.
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What a tough situation. More positive thoughts being sent your way. So sorry for you and your family.
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That’s what I’m looking at, my Part D is going up a lot and I was checking out other providers. WellCare was supposed to be the least expensive but I don’t have the detail formulary pricing yet. I just wondered if they were a good Part D provider and if they would allow me to continue using my Publix pharmacy.
Sabaray—sending lots of positive thoughts your way.
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Words of encouragement and sending prayers on your DH’s healing from his aggressive cancer, and if not healing, treatments to help it not interfere with living out a full life - however long that will be. One day at a time, and hope around the corner as things move along.
I am a big believer in intercessory prayers.
I just was released from my medical oncologist a few months ago after having aggressive cancer in 2009. DDs were in 8th and 10th grades at time of diagnosis, and I was the college ‘expert’ in our household - DH would have been lost if I was too sick, debilitated, or if I had died. Went from stage I to IIIa in 10 weeks (I was misdiagnosed). In 2010, my aunt (who lives in Switzerland) made her fourth and final pilgrimage to Lourdes to pray for me. She sent me a post card which I received two weeks before telling surgery, and another friend had sent me a prayer card from a group of sisters associated with Lourdes. Doctors expected some cancer cells to remain at primary tumor site (over 90% chance to still have cancer cells there) – first had 12 chemo treatments of Taxol and Herceptin, and 4 chemo treatments of older drugs Epirubicin and Cytoxan to shrink it all down (cancer was already in my lymph system as well). Doctor first thought my total chemo would be 12 doses total, but the Taxol/Herceptin kept shrinking the cancer. Biopsy and removal of tumor tissue area May 2010 found no cancer cells. I still continued with 7 weeks/35 radiation treatments (‘junk’ that might have remained in medial lymph nodes got eliminated with the radiation), rest of IV Herceptin protocol, and 10 years of oral medication Tamoxifen 20 mg (estrogen blocker) - some ladies call it ‘oral chemo’ because of the side effects. Heck the key is to have NED (no evidence of disease). I know how fortunate I have been to survive; with some ladies I know younger than me that didn’t make it or are dealing with Stage IV and lifetime oral medication. Totally got the cancer monkey off my back when I was able to have another major surgery in 2012 to eliminate possibility of other female cancers (ovarian or uterine).
So much better treatments are out there for lots of cancers, and immunotherapy has some terrific results too. A friend’s BF had a brain cancer mass that was benign but then developed active cancer and he was stage IV. But between what was surgically removed and his other treatments, things are looking like no active cancer at this point. My friend just retired, so now they can plan more activities.
My great-grandmother was a big believer in Lourdes and that is also how I got my name Bernadette Marie.
Health stress on top of the other things you had going - it is a trial by fire.
On the stress, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. My DH was so ‘wigged out’ that he blurted out at one point that he wanted to take a work assignment oversees in a low moment for him – some people do want to ‘escape’ - but like that could really be good for DDs and me… When I would ask him to take the clean clothes basket upstairs because I was weak, he would snap back “you aren’t that sick”, uh yeah I was that sick. I had a private disability insurance policy that paid out for a while when I was considered 100% disabled (pain 8-10, fatigue 8-10, nausea 8-10). Often when I was asleep on the couch, I would feel my parents (both deceased) hovering over me or feel their presence maybe on our second floor - like in a dream state, and once actually saw angels swoop away while I was awakening.
You can get guidance from oncology staff and oncologist on perhaps what to expect on prognosis and response to various treatments. Depends on if DH is on Medicare/supplement or not with medical expenses and out of pocket.
We had a local cancer support group that was marvelous. Once your house situation settles down, and you get a bit of a breather, can reach out.
When you say surgery/treatment ‘over the mountain’ - do you have a bit of travel to and from there? I was very fortunate to have excellent treatment very close to home, about 15 minutes’ drive to outpatient facilities and 20 minutes to hospital.
Newly in retirement?
My cancer journey began when I was 53. We had max family out of pocket for 4 out of 5 consecutive years (had a 2011 ‘trying to get well’ period before two major surgeries in 2012). Thankfully received some inheritance funds in 2010 and again a bit later. DH’s employer situation was at a bit of a low - they stopped bonuses, pay raises were stingy, and eventually company got bought by another and they lost retirement plan.
I do have fatty liver disease as a result of the Tamoxifen, but the drug helped me survive the cancer. So far, really no big issue with fatty liver.
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Medicare open enrollment for next year begins on October 15th. It’s always recommended to log on to medicare.gov and check the new plans. Part D plans change each year and the website will show the best plan for you after you list current medications and pharmacies. Ideally list several of the latter to comparison shop. Obviously, it’s impossible to predict what drugs may be prescribed for you in the future so the best plan is usually the cheapest overall given current knowledge. I’ve also been on Wellcare but don’t know yet if it’ll be the best option next year.
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Publix is indeed a preferred pharmacy for Wellcare, as is Walgreens and CVS, at least in my area; I would assume it is the same elsewhere. I only use Publix as I love my pharmacist there.
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I do short term prescriptions at our local Walgreens. Wellcare had been using Caremark CVS for mail order but switched to Express Scripts for 2024. I have one expensive ongoing medication which is one of the 10 negotiated drugs for 2026. I’m currently taking it in a combined drug so not sure if that is part of the negotiations but can always switch back to getting them separately.
And yes, every year I check the Medicare calculator and every year I stay with Wellcare. Not sure if the new cap comes into play because I only pay attention to my cost, not what it starts at full retail.
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@sabaray, big virtual hugs.
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Oh, @sarabay, I’m so sorry you’re dealing with all this. Hugs to you.
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Sabaray, sending hugs and good wishes to you and DH.
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Our Walgreens, very close to us geographically, is the 24/7 Pharmacy in our city – although they have limited hours during some stretches due to availability of help/pharmacy and store coverage. We have used this pharmacy for many years; there actually are several Walgreens within a few miles of this location - and I have been told this Walgreens is the busiest of the area. Sometimes they have to pull more expensive medications with filling it a day later than other scripts/90 day scheduled fill. We have learned to wait a day or two to then pick up them all.
Wow, @sabaray, I am very sorry. That is so much stress to deal with. You sound like you’re holding it all together, you must be very strong. Most of us would be falling apart at this point. Good luck to your husband, I hope the cancer is curable.
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