Now if only Congress wrote a bill that required Medicare and Medicaid drug providers to use a single national formulary with standard prices for ALL drugs, and Part B items like continuous glucose monitors so that people don't have to shop to see which provider covers what meds/ancillaries at what price which can change year to year and …
Now if only Congress wrote a bill that required Medicare and Medicaid drug providers to use a single national formulary with standard prices for ALL drugs, and Part B items like continuous glucose monitors so that people don't have to shop to see which provider covers what meds/ancillaries at what price which can change year to year and provider to provider.
I continue to be amazed at how systems to support older people get more and more complicated and force seniors to go through so many hoops along with so much additional supporting administration in government and in the companies.
My 20/20 vision has been compromised constantly for more than a year with a dry eye diagnosis as part of a larger issue. We will now try serum tears using my own blood to make me eye drops. I thought the prescription and OTC eye drops were ridiculously priced and now there is this added expense because of course health insurance does not consider my eye sight worthy of coverage even though I pay for 3 insurance plans. Medicare, a supplement to Medicare insurance and a separate drug plan and I will still have to pay hundreds of dollars for treatments. Of course I am scarcely able to work due to this maddening condition. Pretty sure we were asleep at the wheel when we allowed the insurance industry to involve itself in our health care.
Marj, I can relate to your eye problems. I am hoping this myriad of treatments you have tried include punctual plugs. I have had them in my eyes for years. They keep the tears from going into the tear ducts so my eyes stay lubricated. I’m sure if you’re at the point of custom eye drops you’ve done this but you never know.
Thx Sharon. Yes we tried these plugs. The craziest part of the entire process is the awesome eye doc at MA Eye Ear says the plugs are working in combo with low dose doxycycline I have been taking for months. The associated blinking is now habitual. So I am dealing with the annoying constant blinking. We have to now retrain the brain to stop blinking. Crazy stuff. Hope you are finding relief using drops and warm compresses!
Yes definitely. It is interesting that your pressure was building up from tears. I’ve had radial keratotomy to keep my eyesight and it led to a whole myriad of other problems. Losing your eyesight is super scary and I worry what will happen when I am unable to put my own contact lenses in so I can see. I wish you the best.
Oh boy oh boy! I hope you find relief and soon! Super scary indeed! Thought of losing eyesight is so stressful. If you live alone it is that much scarier.
George, I share your experience and echo your amazement. The endless ads, robocalls, buttons to click are confusing and frustrating for all who try to figure out how to best spend their limited funds in order to try to insure their health. Health care does not have to be a profit-driven business and it should be the role of government to oversee that it is truly available to all.
The massive number of marginalized children and seniors in this country is an international disgrace.
If Congress even prevented insurance companies from raising formulary prices during the contracted year, it would be an improvement. People sign up for Part D for a full year, while companies can change their coverage every month!
You can’t just get Part D by the year. When we turned 65 we opted not get Dubya’s addition because we didn’t think it necessary. How times and conditions change. My 87 year old husband now takes 6 expensive drugs and in order to maintain them, he is paying the expensive penalty to Medicare. I’m hanging in there going online for best price using GoodRX and other like assists. Just last night we checked out the only maintenance drug I take as I need refill. Price jumped over $7 in the last two months. Some of the drug stores whose prices were listed are $20 over that! Going back to earlier comment here, Walmart has the best price...again. They beat Costco.
What I meant, is that each year I have the option to change which Part D plan I use. Many people search the plans offered to find out which has the best price for the drugs they use. Massachusetts even has a web site to make that easier. Once I sign up, I can't change plans until the next year - but the insurance company can change what they charge me. A friend of mine volunteers to help people navigate that maze, and he has told me of people fighting with insurance companies to keep the coverage they signed up for.
Now that I’m on a plan that pays for a medication I had to go through special approval to get my medication covered for a $95 copay I worry about changing to a different plan and losing that.
The whole thing is a mess. We need national health insurance funded by our taxes, so that actually getting health care and medecines does not require huge additional amounts of money. Plus, the govt needs to be able to negotiate with all drug companies on all drugs, and to take any windfall profits from these huge corporations and use them for the public good.
Now if only Congress wrote a bill that required Medicare and Medicaid drug providers to use a single national formulary with standard prices for ALL drugs, and Part B items like continuous glucose monitors so that people don't have to shop to see which provider covers what meds/ancillaries at what price which can change year to year and provider to provider.
I continue to be amazed at how systems to support older people get more and more complicated and force seniors to go through so many hoops along with so much additional supporting administration in government and in the companies.
My 20/20 vision has been compromised constantly for more than a year with a dry eye diagnosis as part of a larger issue. We will now try serum tears using my own blood to make me eye drops. I thought the prescription and OTC eye drops were ridiculously priced and now there is this added expense because of course health insurance does not consider my eye sight worthy of coverage even though I pay for 3 insurance plans. Medicare, a supplement to Medicare insurance and a separate drug plan and I will still have to pay hundreds of dollars for treatments. Of course I am scarcely able to work due to this maddening condition. Pretty sure we were asleep at the wheel when we allowed the insurance industry to involve itself in our health care.
So very sorry to read about this!!
Marj, I can relate to your eye problems. I am hoping this myriad of treatments you have tried include punctual plugs. I have had them in my eyes for years. They keep the tears from going into the tear ducts so my eyes stay lubricated. I’m sure if you’re at the point of custom eye drops you’ve done this but you never know.
Thx Sharon. Yes we tried these plugs. The craziest part of the entire process is the awesome eye doc at MA Eye Ear says the plugs are working in combo with low dose doxycycline I have been taking for months. The associated blinking is now habitual. So I am dealing with the annoying constant blinking. We have to now retrain the brain to stop blinking. Crazy stuff. Hope you are finding relief using drops and warm compresses!
Yes definitely. It is interesting that your pressure was building up from tears. I’ve had radial keratotomy to keep my eyesight and it led to a whole myriad of other problems. Losing your eyesight is super scary and I worry what will happen when I am unable to put my own contact lenses in so I can see. I wish you the best.
Oh boy oh boy! I hope you find relief and soon! Super scary indeed! Thought of losing eyesight is so stressful. If you live alone it is that much scarier.
George, I share your experience and echo your amazement. The endless ads, robocalls, buttons to click are confusing and frustrating for all who try to figure out how to best spend their limited funds in order to try to insure their health. Health care does not have to be a profit-driven business and it should be the role of government to oversee that it is truly available to all.
The massive number of marginalized children and seniors in this country is an international disgrace.
If Congress even prevented insurance companies from raising formulary prices during the contracted year, it would be an improvement. People sign up for Part D for a full year, while companies can change their coverage every month!
You can’t just get Part D by the year. When we turned 65 we opted not get Dubya’s addition because we didn’t think it necessary. How times and conditions change. My 87 year old husband now takes 6 expensive drugs and in order to maintain them, he is paying the expensive penalty to Medicare. I’m hanging in there going online for best price using GoodRX and other like assists. Just last night we checked out the only maintenance drug I take as I need refill. Price jumped over $7 in the last two months. Some of the drug stores whose prices were listed are $20 over that! Going back to earlier comment here, Walmart has the best price...again. They beat Costco.
What I meant, is that each year I have the option to change which Part D plan I use. Many people search the plans offered to find out which has the best price for the drugs they use. Massachusetts even has a web site to make that easier. Once I sign up, I can't change plans until the next year - but the insurance company can change what they charge me. A friend of mine volunteers to help people navigate that maze, and he has told me of people fighting with insurance companies to keep the coverage they signed up for.
Now that I’m on a plan that pays for a medication I had to go through special approval to get my medication covered for a $95 copay I worry about changing to a different plan and losing that.
The whole thing is a mess. We need national health insurance funded by our taxes, so that actually getting health care and medecines does not require huge additional amounts of money. Plus, the govt needs to be able to negotiate with all drug companies on all drugs, and to take any windfall profits from these huge corporations and use them for the public good.
I thought you could enroll during the fall open enrollment period, anytime????