Meanwhile, the Biden Administration Seems Poised to Let Insulin Prices Spike

Medicare sucks.

I’m on some very expensive meds for a mast cell disorder.

Until I hit 65 and was FORCED onto Medicare we had a modest co-pay and it was affordable.

On Medicare, it’s a Tier 4 or 5 med which means it it’s now hundreds of dollars a month, and then there’s the coverage gap, aka the donut hole. It is now over $400/month, not to mention the deductable.

When I reach about $6,000 in out of pocket Rx costs, then it’s covered 90 some percent.

That’s more that our premiums were for the whole year with private employer provided insurance.

I had no doubt that insulin on Medicare will be equally extortionate.

I am also getting screwed over on Epi-pens.

Mylan has a very tainted history with drugs.

If you look at many of the drugs recalled for safety issues, Mylan is big in it.

Their name is always coming up. I try to avoid Mylan products when possible..

That is really bad news on Medicare. My company HR says I don't have to mess with Medicare until I retire. I just turned 65 in August. My wife is 63 with coverage from her employer. I pay $13000 annually in premiums, $6900 in deductibles and get 80/20 coverage for that money. The prospect of having to shift to Medicare is not good. I recall my colleague was fighting melanoma and was getting great support on the company healthcare coverage. He turned 65 and was forced to Medicare. He was dead in 6 months. Incompetent medical services under Medicare.

My wife's ongoing support could get very expensive under Medicare...if it is even solvent the way things are headed. Thanks for the feedback and preview.

BTW, we fund the HSA to the max allowed each year. It's necessary because the insulin pump supplies and sensor supplies cost $1700 every 3 months hitting the annual deductible for my wife in the first 3 quarters. She gets the last 3 months at no additional cost with the deductible paid. Once I sign up for Medicare, I'm prohibited from putting ANY money in the HSA. Another reason I don't want to retire sooner than necessary. The damn vax mandate that Biden is forcing on employers over 100 employees and federal contractors is a potential reason I would retire instead for being forced to take the clot shot.

As long as you are gainfully employed, you may be OK.

Mr mm was “invited” to retire. They called him into the office one day and told him his job position had been eliminated and he had to turn in his phone and laptop and be escorted out of the building.

Then he could take the severance package as a retiree or not. If not, there was no insurance. As a retiree, we could keep it although at a higher monthly premium.

We didn’t have much choice.

Still, check on the Medicare stuff. We may have only been forced onto it because he wasn’t actually actively employed at the time.

My advice to anyone nearing retirement/Medicare age is to make sure you refill every Rx you can and if possible stock up. Get any medical procedures done that you may want or need but have been putting off. If you need medical equipment and are eligible for updating it, do so.

Get all your medical ducks lined up because Medicare sucks, especially the prescription plans.

Also, each state has an office designed to help with Medicare plans called SHIP. Check them out because not all Medicare plans are the same but it’s hopelessly confusing for the average person. These folks have no vested interest in any particular plan and can help navigate the system as they do not stand to profit by you signing up with them.

I HATE it.

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