Page 5 - Cover Letter and Evaluation for Anne Ellzey

coverage), you will save money by ordering as few refills as possible during
December and by avoiding mail-order refills. This may not be feasible, of course, but
it can save you several hundred dollars, depending on how many refills you get.

2) Enroll now in the Blue Cross MedicareRx Plus Plan. Then in December, switch to the
Aetna MedicareRx Saver Plan for 2018. The Blue Cross MedicareRx Plus Plan has a
zero deductible in 2017, and so your insurance kicks in on your first refill. But this
Blue Cross plan has a very high monthly premium of $170.50, and it would make
sense to enroll in this plan only if you were going to get refills of all (or almost all) of
your Rx drugs in December.

If you choose this option, you can switch to the Aetna MedicareRx Saver plan at any
time in December – because you are in your initial enrollment period, you can switch
after December 7, although it might avoid confusion if you switch before then.

Cost comparisons of these two options are shown in an attachment to this letter. These
comparisons are probably unrealistic because they assume you will get all of refills in
December. But at least they give you an idea of the tradeoffs involved in choosing a plan.

Whichever option you choose, you will likely need new prescriptions from your doctors,
although in a few cases it may be possible for your current insurance to transfer your
prescriptions to your new plan. As you probably know, when you change to a different refill
schedule you will always need new prescriptions. And you won’t be able to transfer mail-order
prescriptions unless both plans use the same mail-order service (and so you would need to ask
your doctors for new ones).

Because your Rx drug costs are probably your largest medical expense and because plans often
make substantial changes in their costs and benefits from one year to the next, this is an area
where you can save money by actively managing your coverage. Each year during annual open
enrollment you should look for the lowest-cost plans for the Rx drugs that you take.

Anne, please let me know if you have any questions. 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 new doctors after December 1, show the office staff your 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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