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MEDICARE’S
ANNUAL TREASURE HUNT
Once a year Medicare invites many senior citizens into
its mysterious inner sanctum. For those who have opted for a
prescription drug benefit plan (Medicare Part D), the last six weeks of
the year are "open enrollment period," alias "treasure hunt time." Not
that there is any real treasure waiting at the end of the hunt, but
there might be a financial saving which is almost as good!
In a ‘government hands-off’ way, Medicare requires a
consumer to do his/her own research regarding which prescription drug
plan is best for their own individual needs. No doubt that system saves
some of our tax dollars but it shifts the red-tape onto our shoulders!
So, in order to accomplish that task each year, it is important to
develop a positive attitude or, as my father used to say about every
disagreeable task his daughters faced, "Make a game of it!" For once I
have followed my father’s advice and I embark on the necessary
painstaking research as a "Treasure Hunt."
Unfortunately, there is no secret, X-marked map to the
location of the "treasure." Instead, the seeking consumer must decipher
and follow a series of clues, each necessary before attempting the next
phase. It takes me at least half a day to find my way through the
complexities and inner workings of this one small aspect of our health
care system! Thank goodness I don’t need major surgery - yet!
In general, my Medicare D search goes like this:
CLUE 1: Turn on your computer, boot it up, go on the
internet and access www.Medicare.gov.
CLUE 2: What is your user name? (User of what, I
wonder.) What is your password? (Gosh,. I wrote that down somewhere. I
wonder where?)
CLUE 3: What are you searching for? (That’s a dumb
question, isn’t it? If I knew, I wouldn’t be searching, now would
I?) Many detours and false starts occur at this point. I enter
search phrases that I think make sense but lead me to places like "How
to enroll," "Complaint procedures," "FAQs," pictures of smiling older
couples looking over the results of their "treasure hunts," and a
screen full of instructions about Medicare D research that doesn’t tell
me how to do it!
CLUE 4: "Go to Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Finder."
(That sounds promising, so I do it. Sure enough, I’m getting closer,
but I’ve wandered into a new series of questions!)
CLUE 5: What is your zip code? What is your Medicare
Number? What is your last name? (By this time, I’m not sure
but luckily it’s right there on my Medicare card with my number!)
CLUE 6: Date when you first enrolled in Medicare? Your
birthdate? (If I lie about my age I could lose all my Medicare
benefits. Better tell the truth here!)
CLUE 7: Indicate your preferred pharmacy. ("Whatever’s
close" is not given as one of the choices!)
CLUE 8: To update your Drug List, give your drug list
password and password date. (Good grief, I have no idea what either
password is! Did I have the presence of mind to write them down five
years ago when I opened this mind-boggling account?)
CLUE 9: Is your drug list correct and up-to-date? If
not, make the necessary changes before proceeding. (Pulling my medicine
bottles down from the shelf, I check and see that it is almost right.
It doesn’t, however, include the aspirin that I will need to take soon
for the technological trauma I am currently undergoing!)
CLUE 10: Are you currently enrolled in a Prescription
Drug benefit plan? What plan? Which type? What is your monthly premium?
(By this time, I am grateful that they include an "I don’t know" option
for an answer!)
CLUE 11: Do you have Medigap insurance? What type of
plan? (I wish they had an answer option of "That’s none of your
business"!)
CLUE 12: Are you eligible for financial assistance from
your state or federal government? (No, but I sure could use some
technological assistance right now!)
CLUE 13: Comparison of Prescription Drug Benefit Plans
available in your state. Choose the criteria for comparison: 1. cost,
2. quality, 3. available services, 4. additional benefits, 5. Other.
(Cost, of course. If my time were worth $25 an hour, you have just
consumed $50 of it for nothing. How about a refund?)
CLUE 14: Comparison of plans below. (There it is,
finally. The "treasure" I started hunting for hours ago! Or is it? A
careful search and comparison reveals a possible savings of only about
$100 for the coming year!)
So my "treasure hunt" for 2011 data has finally come to
an end with no chance at all of getting rich! I can hardly contain my
excitement and anticipation for the chance to do it all again in 12
months!
12 Nov 2010 - mshr
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