Page 5 - Cover Letter and Evaluation for Frank Levy

for the Rx drugs that you take. Like the Aetna plan, this plan has an above-average
quality rating of four stars and no premiums for medical coverage. But unlike the Aetna
plan, this plan has a very large network of providers (more than 20,000), which gives
you a wide choice of specialists if you need to see other doctors.

Perhaps this plan’s main disadvantage is its $750 deductible for health services, which
has the same effect as adding $80+ a month to your health plan premiums. In the
minimum cost calculations on page 3 of the evaluation, I assumed that you will spend
the entire $750 deductible, but in most years that would be unlikely. Also,
recommended preventive tests and screenings are not subject to this deductible since
Medicare fully covers them.

Rx Drug Coverage

Please check the list of your Rx drugs, dosages, and monthly quantities in Appendix D1 to make
sure it is correct. This list was used by the Medicare Plan Finder to estimate your drug costs for
2018. Costs include premiums, deductible, and co-payments, and they assume you will get
monthly refills at a CVS pharmacy.

The lowest-cost Part D stand-alone plan is the SIlverscript Choice prescription drug plan (it is
the lowest-cost stand-alone plan for monthly refills as well as for mail-order refills). Estimated
annual costs for 2018 are $3,556. This is a well-regarded national plan with an above-average
quality rating of four stars.

Your estimated annual prescription drug costs in the Aetna Medicare Choice PPO plan are
$3,497. And in the Humana Choice PPO plan in your evaluation, the costs for monthly refills are
$440 higher for the year. In this Humana plan, you would save more than $400 with mail-order.

Insulin and diabetic supplies

Insulin is typically covered by Part D, the exception being insulin that’s used in an implantable
pump, which is covered by Part B. Some diabetic supplies like syringes are covered by Part B, as
shown in Appendix D3. In the cases in which an item is covered by Part B, your health
care/medical insurance will pay most or all of the amount that Medicare does not pay. When it
is covered by Part D, you will usually have a co-payment once your deductible is satisfied.

After you’ve enrolled in a plan, you can ask your pharmacy about any items not covered by Part
D. If it is covered by Part B, the pharmacist will need to see your Medicare card so that he/she
can bill Medicare for its share, usually 80%, of the cost.

Analysis

As you can see by comparing each plan’s minimum costs on page 3 of your evaluation, you can
save quite a bit of money in either of the Advantage plans, but you are accepting more risk.

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