Page 5 - Cover Letter & Evaluation for Blanca del Real

Boeing plan’s Rx drug coverage is geared toward more expensive drugs, although there’s no
way to know that without seeing the pricing details.

In the three Advantage plans, your annual costs range from zero to $60, depending on the plan.
None of the plans has premiums.

Summary

On page 3 of your evaluation, you can compare the minimum costs you will pay in your current
Boeing plan and in the three Advantage plans. Minimum costs are the costs that you know you
will pay, based on the Rx drugs you are taking. They include premiums, health plan deductible,
and drug costs. As you can see, the minimum costs in your current plan are roughly $4,000
more in 2019 than in the other three options.

Employer plans are usually superior to Advantage plans because the employer/union pays a
portion of the premium. But your current plan appears to be overpriced relative to its benefits.
Before changing, you might ask if your employer has other options you can choose. Most large
employer plans have more than one option – a Medicare supplement and one or more
Advantage plans that include dental and vision coverage, for instance.

If that’s the case, you could see the costs in the employer-sponsored Advantage plan. In the
past I have had clients who were Boeing retirees and were enrolled in a SCAN Advantage plan
that was partly subsidized by Boeing. It’s possible, of course, that they were in a different union
or employee group than your husband was and therefore have different plan choices. Still, it
would be good to ask if there are other options, since you will likely not be able to re-enter the
plan later.

Your Next Steps

If you decide to switch from your current plan to an Advantage plan, here are the steps to
follow:

1) Verify with Dr. Roberts’ office that she is in the plan’s network;
2) After verifying that Boeing does not have other plan options that you qualify for, if
you want to dis-enroll from the Boeing plan follow the plan’s dis-enrollment
procedure (you may need to fill out a form indicating you are dropping your Boeing
coverage).
3) Enroll in the Advantage plan that you choose by calling the plan’s toll-free number,
shown on pages 3-4 of your evaluation. Make sure you specify the exact name of the
plan – there are several Humana and SCAN plans, and you want to make sure you
enroll in the one you want. You will need to do this before December 7, and
preferably as soon as practical. You can switch Advantage plans each year during
Medicare’s fall open enrollment period.

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