Hindsight is 20-20, but for one 85-year-old retiree, the discovery that she’d been overpaying for her prescription meds — to the tune of $1,200 per year — could have come sooner and with a switch to a different Medicare Part D plan.
The octagenarian only discovered the truth when she finally accepted help from her daughter, retirement expert Marcia Mantell. Mantell told MarketWatch there was a problem after hearing her mom say she'd found plan information on an insurance broker’s website medicare.com that's not the official Medicare.gov page.
Don't miss
-
Car insurance premiums in America are through the roof — and only getting worse. But less than 2 minutes can save you more than $600/year
-
5 minutes could get you up to $2M in life insurance coverage — with no medical exam or blood test
-
5 ways to boost your net worth now — easily up your money game without altering your day-to-day life
Mantell said she helped her mother run the numbers on the actual Medicare.gov site to how much she was really paying. Sadly not everyone has a retirement expert in their family — and many seniors may be overpaying for their medication and health care. Fortunately, Mantell shared some tips during her interview that could help other retirees spend less. Here's what they are.
1. Use the official Medicare tool to find a plan
Mantell warned that many seniors confuse private for-profit sites with the official Medicare.gov site and said that can be a headache in the making. She urged retirees to use the government's approved website to compare costs when selecting a Medicare Part D prescription drug plan.
While Mantell said the tool can be "a little kludgy," but it has all the resources retirees need to pick a plan. You just need to be specific in the details you provide. You'll have to enter all of the prescription drugs you're taking, including the doses and select the pharmacy to buy them from.
Once you provide the information, the tool lists plans from the most affordable to the most expensive. By looking at the total costs and clicking to read the fine print for each plan, you can find the Medicare Part D plan that has the best overall value.
Open enrollment for Medicare runs from October 15 to December 7 each year. You'll want to do the comparison, get signed up and customize your plan for the right coverage during this period.
Read more: 5 ways to boost your net worth now — easily up your money game without altering your day-to-day life
2. Choose your pharmacy carefully
Retirees often have a choice about where they get their medications, and Mantell said selecting the right pharmacy is also key to keeping costs down. She told MarketWatch she once saved a client $53,300 by helping her switch to an in-network pharmacy where her meds cost $1,700 per year instead of $55,000.