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allesandra Asked September 2019

My mom neglected to pay her Part D Medicare bill and has lost coverage, she has appealed the process, but what does she do in the meantime?

Mom neglected to pay her Part D Medicare bill which is for prescription insurance. So now I am taking over the bills for her. In the meantime she has no prescription insurance which is driving me crazy and broke. We've appealed the cancellation of coverage which takes 30 days before a response is received. There really is no good reason for this other than forgetfulness and she doesn't fit into any of the categories for SEP, any ideas on how to handle this? I can't afford all of these prescriptions she needs.


Is there any way around this?

Monica19815 Sep 2019
Contact your Congressman or Congresswoman. My husband had a similar situation because my employer gave us incorrect advice when we got married. At the time he was only 3 years away from going on Medicare and was going on my insurance. They had told us he would not need Part B as my insurance would be his entire supplemental insurance to Medicare. But I retired in that time and they never told me he would now need to sign up for Part B. Our wonderful Congressman straightened everything out for us. They are there for YOU, their constituent. Good luck!

anonymous912123 Sep 2019
Why isn't she paying for her meds? Perhaps some one needs to take over her finances. My part D is deducted right from my SS check every month, so I do not get that either. Have it taken out direct to avoid this in the future. Also get a durable POA to avoid future problems.
allesandra Sep 2019
she can't afford them, and gets very upset over money issues. anyway, I'm paying the bills now from her account and trying to keep her as calm as possible

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surprise Sep 2019
In the mean time, see if she can use coupons from goodrx dot com. They helped me out when my rx was too expensive. You can see how much the drug is at each store they have a contract with and pick the cheapest or most convenient.
PeeWee57 Sep 2019
My mother never signed up for Part D, and GoodRx has been a lifesaver for her.
7again Sep 2019
GoodRX! I use it, even though I have Medicare part D, I chose the cheapest monthly plan. This plan has a large deductible and pays a bit less of the cost. I keep it just in case I have an emergency or an accident. For my regular meds, GoodRX works just as well (if not better!) than using the insurance.

peace416 Sep 2019
If she's reinstated or when she is set with another Part D insurance company, check to see if they offer an "easy pay" option where they automatically withdraw the premium from her checking account. You would have to provide her checking account information to them. The Part D company should provide instructions on how to enroll. At least this would eliminate you having to worry and she won't have another lapse in coverage.

SuzieBB Sep 2019
We didn't realize that Mom didn't have prescription coverage, just a BCBS discount, until we tried to refill her meds earlier this year and learned BCBS had ceased the discount program. Instead of paying about $50 the bill was about $1600. We then compared different discount programs such as GoodRx and RxSaver and dropped the price back down to about $59 which covers 3 months of sertraline, donepezile, and memantine. Classic Alzheimers medications. Not all pharmacies play well with the quoted prices from the discount services. CVS and Walgreens come to mind, they charge way more than the estimated price. Kroger charges the quoted amount, so we moved everything there. I even switched to Kroger using RxSaver for my own meds because it's half the price of my own insurance covered rate. FYI the prices vary between discount programs and location and pharmacy so I suggest checking them all. The difference can be substantial.
Grandma1954 Sep 2019
If this helps...if you are a member of Sam's Club Donepezil is one of the medications that is free (in some states). There are 5 medications that are free 30 day supply.
BarbBrooklyn Sep 2019
YOU do not pay for her scripts.

Call her doctor's office and ask them what to do.

What are your mother's financial resources?

TNtechie Sep 2019
Ask the doctor's office if they have any samples of your mother's medications.

anonymous828521 Sep 2019
I hope this helps, it didn't say anything on the website about being limited to my state only.
https://www.goodrx.com/blog/save-on-medications-goodrx-gold-drug-savings-program/ (website).
GoodRx Gold currently has a special offer where you can get a free membership for 30 days. After that, monthly plans will cost $5.99 for individuals and $9.99 for families.
Please check with your pharmasist, who has likely dealt with coupon companies like this a lot.
Ricky6 Sep 2019
We have used the GoodRx too. It is also helpful for any non formulary drugs which are not paid by the Medicare D drug plan.
Isabelsdaughter Sep 2019
I have RXscript from united health, and they told me if you are late on a payment they will give you time to pay. They won't just cut you off. I don't know how behind she was, but there are many medicare RX insurance companies you can check into. Good luck

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