Page 4 - Cover Letter and Evaluation for Kirk Schmidt

plan. If you had Plan L, you could switch to another insurance company’s Plan L to get lower
premiums, but you could not to upgrade to a more comprehensive plan like Plan F without
being subject to medical underwriting.

Your Doctor Accepts Medicare Assignment

As shown in Appendix A, Dr. O’Grady accepts Medicare assignment, which means that he
agrees to charge the Medicare-approved amounts. Some doctors accept Medicare patients but
do not accept assignment, and they can charge up to 15% more. Plans F and G cover this
surcharge, but plans N and L do not.

Rx Drug Plan Coverage

If you buy a Medigap policy, you will also need to enroll in a Part D prescription drug plan –
sometimes called a Part D stand-alone plan. In 2018, the lowest-cost stand-alone plan for your
drugs is the SilverScript Choice plan. It will cost you $892 if you get mail-order refills. Those
costs include premiums and co-payments. To enroll in this plan, you can call its toll-free number
shown on page 4 of your evaluation.

In this plan when you need to have short-term prescriptions filled, you may save money by
going to a CVS Pharmacy. CVS is this plan’s only preferred pharmacy in your area, as shown on
the last page of the Appendices.

You indicated that you take one puff of the Advair Diskus Inhaler daily, and since a blister pack
contains 60 doses, I assumed that one inhaler will last you for two months. I also ran the costs
in case you average using one inhaler a month, or two puffs a day, which is Medicare’s default
dosage. In this scenario, the SilverScript Choice plan is still the lowest-cost plan for mail-order
refills and your annual costs will increase to $1,234.

Kirk, please let me know if you have any questions. Also, there are a couple of things to keep in
mind as you make the transition to Medicare as your primary coverage. On your initial visits to
your doctors after January 1, show the office staff your new enrollment cards for Medicare
A&B, your Medigap policy and your Part D stand-alone plan. That will help to avoid any billing
confusion. Also, you’re entitled to a free “Welcome to Medicare” physical (see page 11 of the
evaluation), but you’ll probably have to request it.

Sincerely,

David Armes, CFP®

Attachments

WDA:12115

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