Thanks to the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, which claims to help seniors save money on their drugs, we have an explosive year in understanding and securing the right drug plan for 2025. And with the most confusing year for Medicare clients ever, 2025 around the corner, the insurance companies have mostly fired the agents from helping you with your drug plans. With that in mind, please use the model below to help you find your correct plan. My clients at this site, same deal but call me if you have tried it and get stuck! I cannot run drug plan for everyone however with a few exceptions you can find later in this message.
This info is for those that have Supplements only. Advantage people have their own issues with drugs but your plans come bundled with the health and drugs plans combined and no choice of changing the drug plan is available, other than changing your plan.
So if you have a supplement (you have Original Medicare, A&B, actively working as well) you should ALWAYS, EACH and EVERY YEAR, run your drug list through Medicare's model at Medicare.gov to see which plan you should have for Jan. 1, when the new plans go into place.
Having run at least 5000 drug plan searches for my Medicare Supplement clients, I will tell you I have found some loopholes in the model (never input your Cialis or Viagra generic meds because GoodRX covers it for 20% of what the drug plans do) and there are several other common rookie issues. But most of you will do OK without any experience there.
Ready?
Go to https://www.medicare.gov/plan-compare/#/?year=2025&lang=en This is the short cut to the entry screen for your drug plan comparison at Medicare.gov This is not my site and it's not the plan I had hoped to use but it's THE site for basic plan entry and change. Being run by Medicare, it does not attempt to mislead you in any way!
1) Put in your zip code / if you have more than one county in your zip code, add the proper county / notice that you want 2025 in your search criteria Hit CONTINUE
2) On the 2nd page, check the circle in the middle, you want a "Medicare drug plan (Part D)" Click Find Plans!
3) On page 3, most likely you will want to realize that none of the exceptions cover you, so go below the line and click on "I don't get help from any of these programs!" CONTINUE
4) On page 4, it asks a question that is very simple "Do you want to see your drug costs when you compare plans?" Duh! Check YES !!!! Hit NEXT!
5) Now begin to fill in drugs / type in your medication / Spell it correctly / hold the bottle in your hand if you don't have it perfectly spelled out on a list / after you enter it, or even before you spell it all out, versions of that medication (there may be several similar versions) now appear below the entry box / this is important! Don't hit Add Drug! / Instead click on their listing of the medication / if you fail to do this (and I forget to do this often) it will make you type the entry again !! So when the entry appears below the box click below the box on THEIR ENTRY , not what you typed in. The programmer could have made this simpler but what's new when we work with forms!!
6) Keep doing this until you get all the drugs entered, then you'll see either "Add another drug" or "Done adding drugs" / this can be challenging sometimes to make it total up your list and help you pick a plan (there are 15 available)
7) The next screen says Choose up to 5 pharmacies! Scroll down to add up to 5 choices or enter one in the "Pharmacy name" section / Mail order is usually disappointing but can be added /
8) Pick up to five plans / I'd do at least 3 choices or more! Bottom right of screen (don't do this on a cell phone!) click on DONE
9) There are your fifteen plan choices listed from the cheapest plan to the most expensive, 1 through 15
10) Explore, make changes by going back to the original entries (this may take a while, they do have chat entries on the side of the page if you get stuck.)
11) The first entry is usually the cheapest / if you like it, Click on plan details. It explains the pricing (yes, you have a lot to learn about how this works!) After you wonder around in the plan, look at what your store choices cost (this can be VERY important) look on the 5th line or so and call the NON Member phone no. to sign up
12) Most plans are barring the agent from helping you and refusing to work with agents or pay them / United Health plans and Blue Cross and Cigna if it's not the SAVER plans will pay the agents, call me if you land on one of these. Call me and I'll get involved in finishing up the billing and I'll iron out a few mysteries of the software or plans for you
13) Again, only United Health, Blue Cross or Cigna (not their Saver) will allow the agent (possibly me!) to help // All other plans, call the NON MEMBER phone no. for help. Not me !!
14) You will get an order writer on the phone. He'll be licensed but will not schmooze you! Not a friendly independent agent. They'll ask you for your Medicare no. and process the application ASAP. Sergeant Friday version / "Just the facts ma'am!"
They may be polite, they may be pushy. They want to get you signed up and move to the next call quickly so keep it short and focused but do ask any questions that you have.
Now is also the time to find out if your supplement is costing you more than you MUST pay for it.
Can you rewrite your supplement (this assumes that you can meet the company's underwriter's standard for what is good health. I have a 2 page questionnaire that allows you to see if you might pass underwriting. Imagine that you might trim off 1/3 of your monthly costs.
If you have been on your current supplement for up to 3 years or more, and can pass the underwriter's questions (no pacemakers, no Stents, no cancer in the last 3 years, etc.) we should fill out an entry and see if we can improve your supplement. Tried to write a lady five years ago. She went with a company I warned her about. Called me two weeks ago, her supplement was over $325 a month. Very healthy! I reviewed two plan options with her. Got her approved for Sup. N for $116. $209 a month in upfront savings. $2508 a year !! And that savings will mostly occur for many years, not just one. Think of that. I have done about 175 of these with my clients and 3 of them were mine!!
If you are healthy and have Sup. F, your plan is officially an Oldsmobile 88 living in a Tesla world. I once had it! G gets 70% of smart signups and N fits the other 30%.
Call me and let's discuss first your likelihood of passing underwriting. There is no charge, no knock on the door like a life insurance sale. After reviewing the 2 page questionnaire and saying NO to all questions we will apply. It Takes 30 min. to fill out, no charge, and we will know if you are accepted within 1 to 5 days. Healthy couples 5 years or longer on their plans, often trim off $1000 each from their yearly premiums. It's possible to even stay with the same company. We will discuss multiple companies that we an apply with, as many as 5.
Gary S. / OB member and poster since '06. Formerly advertised here for 7 or 8 years. / Under 65 (I refer to an excellent friend and writer) / I personally write Medicare only as an independent agent / 21st year / I have currently around 450 active clients, with approximately 400 on supplements / I have rewritten my supplement 3 times and likely pay much less then you do! Email me for the 2 page screen to see if you might pass underwriting / it's not brain surgery, don't put this off / and you can rewrite your supplement (assumes you have one now ) all 12 months of the year. Not just in the fall !! / Don't text me please! ges01@comcast.net has been my email at this site for 18 years / I have a more formal one that I don't use / I never share data with anyone! Or call me at 713-376-5608. I do not want to give blind quotes or answer blind questions without speaking to you! Call me 12 to 6 daily or email me with your phone nos. included / Super busy time of year / Medicare does not allow competitive quoting / all sources (companies as well) have the same price for the same item / I have no fee / the company pays me directly never the client / thus I have most plans in the market, at the lowest price / Just good solid work and never a single complaint on this site!
Best wishes / GS
This info is for those that have Supplements only. Advantage people have their own issues with drugs but your plans come bundled with the health and drugs plans combined and no choice of changing the drug plan is available, other than changing your plan.
So if you have a supplement (you have Original Medicare, A&B, actively working as well) you should ALWAYS, EACH and EVERY YEAR, run your drug list through Medicare's model at Medicare.gov to see which plan you should have for Jan. 1, when the new plans go into place.
Having run at least 5000 drug plan searches for my Medicare Supplement clients, I will tell you I have found some loopholes in the model (never input your Cialis or Viagra generic meds because GoodRX covers it for 20% of what the drug plans do) and there are several other common rookie issues. But most of you will do OK without any experience there.
Ready?
Go to https://www.medicare.gov/plan-compare/#/?year=2025&lang=en This is the short cut to the entry screen for your drug plan comparison at Medicare.gov This is not my site and it's not the plan I had hoped to use but it's THE site for basic plan entry and change. Being run by Medicare, it does not attempt to mislead you in any way!
1) Put in your zip code / if you have more than one county in your zip code, add the proper county / notice that you want 2025 in your search criteria Hit CONTINUE
2) On the 2nd page, check the circle in the middle, you want a "Medicare drug plan (Part D)" Click Find Plans!
3) On page 3, most likely you will want to realize that none of the exceptions cover you, so go below the line and click on "I don't get help from any of these programs!" CONTINUE
4) On page 4, it asks a question that is very simple "Do you want to see your drug costs when you compare plans?" Duh! Check YES !!!! Hit NEXT!
5) Now begin to fill in drugs / type in your medication / Spell it correctly / hold the bottle in your hand if you don't have it perfectly spelled out on a list / after you enter it, or even before you spell it all out, versions of that medication (there may be several similar versions) now appear below the entry box / this is important! Don't hit Add Drug! / Instead click on their listing of the medication / if you fail to do this (and I forget to do this often) it will make you type the entry again !! So when the entry appears below the box click below the box on THEIR ENTRY , not what you typed in. The programmer could have made this simpler but what's new when we work with forms!!
6) Keep doing this until you get all the drugs entered, then you'll see either "Add another drug" or "Done adding drugs" / this can be challenging sometimes to make it total up your list and help you pick a plan (there are 15 available)
7) The next screen says Choose up to 5 pharmacies! Scroll down to add up to 5 choices or enter one in the "Pharmacy name" section / Mail order is usually disappointing but can be added /
8) Pick up to five plans / I'd do at least 3 choices or more! Bottom right of screen (don't do this on a cell phone!) click on DONE
9) There are your fifteen plan choices listed from the cheapest plan to the most expensive, 1 through 15
10) Explore, make changes by going back to the original entries (this may take a while, they do have chat entries on the side of the page if you get stuck.)
11) The first entry is usually the cheapest / if you like it, Click on plan details. It explains the pricing (yes, you have a lot to learn about how this works!) After you wonder around in the plan, look at what your store choices cost (this can be VERY important) look on the 5th line or so and call the NON Member phone no. to sign up
12) Most plans are barring the agent from helping you and refusing to work with agents or pay them / United Health plans and Blue Cross and Cigna if it's not the SAVER plans will pay the agents, call me if you land on one of these. Call me and I'll get involved in finishing up the billing and I'll iron out a few mysteries of the software or plans for you
13) Again, only United Health, Blue Cross or Cigna (not their Saver) will allow the agent (possibly me!) to help // All other plans, call the NON MEMBER phone no. for help. Not me !!
14) You will get an order writer on the phone. He'll be licensed but will not schmooze you! Not a friendly independent agent. They'll ask you for your Medicare no. and process the application ASAP. Sergeant Friday version / "Just the facts ma'am!"
They may be polite, they may be pushy. They want to get you signed up and move to the next call quickly so keep it short and focused but do ask any questions that you have.
Now is also the time to find out if your supplement is costing you more than you MUST pay for it.
Can you rewrite your supplement (this assumes that you can meet the company's underwriter's standard for what is good health. I have a 2 page questionnaire that allows you to see if you might pass underwriting. Imagine that you might trim off 1/3 of your monthly costs.
If you have been on your current supplement for up to 3 years or more, and can pass the underwriter's questions (no pacemakers, no Stents, no cancer in the last 3 years, etc.) we should fill out an entry and see if we can improve your supplement. Tried to write a lady five years ago. She went with a company I warned her about. Called me two weeks ago, her supplement was over $325 a month. Very healthy! I reviewed two plan options with her. Got her approved for Sup. N for $116. $209 a month in upfront savings. $2508 a year !! And that savings will mostly occur for many years, not just one. Think of that. I have done about 175 of these with my clients and 3 of them were mine!!
If you are healthy and have Sup. F, your plan is officially an Oldsmobile 88 living in a Tesla world. I once had it! G gets 70% of smart signups and N fits the other 30%.
Call me and let's discuss first your likelihood of passing underwriting. There is no charge, no knock on the door like a life insurance sale. After reviewing the 2 page questionnaire and saying NO to all questions we will apply. It Takes 30 min. to fill out, no charge, and we will know if you are accepted within 1 to 5 days. Healthy couples 5 years or longer on their plans, often trim off $1000 each from their yearly premiums. It's possible to even stay with the same company. We will discuss multiple companies that we an apply with, as many as 5.
Gary S. / OB member and poster since '06. Formerly advertised here for 7 or 8 years. / Under 65 (I refer to an excellent friend and writer) / I personally write Medicare only as an independent agent / 21st year / I have currently around 450 active clients, with approximately 400 on supplements / I have rewritten my supplement 3 times and likely pay much less then you do! Email me for the 2 page screen to see if you might pass underwriting / it's not brain surgery, don't put this off / and you can rewrite your supplement (assumes you have one now ) all 12 months of the year. Not just in the fall !! / Don't text me please! ges01@comcast.net has been my email at this site for 18 years / I have a more formal one that I don't use / I never share data with anyone! Or call me at 713-376-5608. I do not want to give blind quotes or answer blind questions without speaking to you! Call me 12 to 6 daily or email me with your phone nos. included / Super busy time of year / Medicare does not allow competitive quoting / all sources (companies as well) have the same price for the same item / I have no fee / the company pays me directly never the client / thus I have most plans in the market, at the lowest price / Just good solid work and never a single complaint on this site!
Best wishes / GS
