Page 5 - Cover Letter and Evaluation for Steve Decker

2) UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage Plan 3 (an HMO). This plan appears to be
superior to the other plan in two respects – it has a higher 4-star quality rating from
Medicare and much lower costs for your prescription drugs. Its main weakness appears
to be its $6,700 out-of-pocket limit -- the maximum that Medicare allows for an
Advantage HMO plan.

This plan has no premiums for either health or Rx drug coverage and no deductible for
health coverage. Co-payments for primary care office visits are $15 and for specialist
office visits are $45 (these amounts are the same in both plans). This plan’s benefit
summary, including the costs for your Rx drugs, is in Appendix C3.

Rx Drug Plan Coverage

Please verify that the drugs, dosages, and monthly quantities that I entered in Medicare’s Plan
Finder program are accurate – these are shown on the first page of Appendix D1. These drugs
and dosages were used by Plan Finder to identify the lowest-cost plans, which are also listed in
Appendix D1.

All four of your drugs are generics, which helps to keep your total cost down. And in whatever
plan you choose, you might see if your mail-order prescriptions can be transferred to the new
plan. If they can’t be, you’ll need to ask your physicians for new prescriptions.

The Plan Finder program identifies the lowest-cost plans for the remainder of the year
beginning on the first day of the coming month (April 1). That means the costs shown on the
summary pages in Appendix D1 are for nine months and are more than you will pay. Your costs
for your first six months in each plan are shown in Appendices C2, C3, and D2.

If you get a Medigap policy, the lowest-cost stand-alone drug plan is the Humana Walmart
Value Rx Plan. In this plan your estimated costs for the last six months of this year are $919,
assuming you get mail-order refills. That amount includes the plan’s premiums and the co-
payments for your drugs. This plan’s only preferred pharmacy in your area is Walmart
Pharmacy, and when you get your prescriptions filled locally, you will probably get the lowest
prices there. But because you prefer mail-order, this may not be an issue. To enroll in this plan,
you can call (800) 706-0872. The benefit summary is in Appendix D2.

As for the two Advantage plans compared in the evaluation, the UnitedHealthcare Medicare
Advantage Plan 3, an HMO, has the lowest costs for the last six months of this year -- $508 for
mail-order refills. And the AARP Medicare Advantage Choice Regional PPO Plan will cost you an
estimated $948 for mail-order refills for the last six months of this year.

CVS is not a preferred pharmacy in either of these Advantage plans. I was unable to find any
preferred pharmacies in your area for either plan. If you choose either plan, you might ask the
plan representative with whom you speak if the plan has preferred pharmacies in your area and

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