What do people need to know about Medicare? Laura Mongeon, executive director United Healthcare Medicare and retirement, says when you are looking at original Medicare, it doesn’t cover prescription drug costs and they want to make sure people are aware of that. She says there are two things people can do about that. You can purchase a Part D plan with that original Medicare or you can actually purchase a Medicare Advantage plan. The Advantage plan wraps everything, all your benefits, into one easy to use plan.
Mel asked for tips for us on how to access affordable prescriptions and medication. Laura says there are two things she wants to talk about. As for access she says there is home delivery. With the onset of the pandemic a lot of their members selected to have home delivery. You can have your 30-day prescriptions filled and they even have some of their 90 day prescriptions filled. So, the first thing would be home delivery and the second thing is to look to see if there is a generic option available. Laura say what she means by that is when you are part of a Medicare Advantage plan, they actually have a formulary that lists all the drugs. There are many tiers and the lower tiers cost less. The best thing to do is contact your doctor to see if there is a generic alternative available.
The best resource to you find out more about prescription drug coverage is their member services team says Laura. All you have to do to call their member services is take your membership ID card and turn it over and the phone number is right there. They are there to help you. Also, if you have access to online, they have a great member portal and it is called RX online marketplace. You can go on there, put in your information and you can do comparison shopping and you can order your refills. Laura says there has been studies done on this, and members who actually do this, actually save about $450 a year.
How do I know what my plan offers? To know your benefits is so important to maximize what you can get from the plan says Laura. She says the best thing to do is call the customer service number to see exactly what your plan offers, or you can call your agent. If you understand your benefits you are going to get the most from your plan.
800-267-6550
For more information visit uhcmedicarehealthplans.com
