which Part D to choose? confused

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10-11-25, 4:35pm
Tybee

which Part D to choose? confused

I am confused by the Part D plans and what to choose. My plan went from 10 dollars a month to 45 last year, and now for 2026 it is going up to 95 dollars a month.

I could get a slightly cheaper plan, 82, but it has a higher deductible.

I'm on expensive asthma drugs, but my direct primary care doctor can order medicine at a discount, at least the asthma meds. Not sure about the arthritis meds.

Paying her would be 75 dollars a month for asthma but not sure about the arthritis, and not sure about if something else comes up.

There is a plan for 102 a month that has a really low deductible, and I'd probably meet it the first month.

Last year I thought the premium was high but this year it is nuts.

What are you folks doing with respect to a plan?
10-11-25, 4:47pm
iris lilies

I will not be helpful at all, but it doesn’t seem to me that I pay much for drugs I use probably the entire thing is under $1000 a year so I’ve never shopped around.

My direct care physician also provides some medication from her office, but I’ve gradually moved everything over to the local pharmacy just because it’s easier for me to have them supplied from one place.

I can’t remember if my direct care physician runs the drugs she supplies through my insurance.
10-11-25, 6:05pm
Tybee

Thanks, all information is helpful!
10-12-25, 7:01am
rosarugosa

Tybee: I have an inexpensive Wellcare plan, although the premium has gone from 50 cents per month in 2024 (I paid the whole year in advance!) to $12.40 per month in 2025, to $16.40 per month in 2026. So that's a pretty steep increase, although still quite cheap comparatively. There is a $615 deductible, however, our cheaper, common generic drugs don't cost us anything out-of-pocket from our local pharmacy. Apparently they are considered Tier 1 - Preferred Generic cost sharing, and this includes my generic Fosamax and my statin.
I get my other medications from Mark Cuban's Cost Plus Pharmacy without using my RX coverage, and this has saved me an awful lot of money. The catch is that they don't have an exhaustive list of drugs, so this doesn't work for everyone.
The best options are going to vary for each individual depending on the medications they need, and of course one can't really anticipate future needs. Good luck with making your choices!
10-12-25, 7:28am
Tybee

Quote:

Originally Posted by rosarugosa

Tybee: I have an inexpensive Wellcare plan, although the premium has gone from 50 cents per month in 2024 (I paid the whole year in advance!) to $12.40 per month in 2025, to $16.40 per month in 2026. So that's a pretty steep increase, although still quite cheap comparatively. There is a $615 deductible, however, our cheaper, common generic drugs don't cost us anything out-of-pocket from our local pharmacy. Apparently they are considered Tier 1 - Preferred Generic cost sharing, and this includes my generic Fosamax and my statin.
I get my other medications from Mark Cuban's Cost Plus Pharmacy without using my RX coverage, and this has saved me an awful lot of money. The catch is that they don't have an exhaustive list of drugs, so this doesn't work for everyone.
The best options are going to vary for each individual depending on the medications they need, and of course one can't really anticipate future needs. Good luck with making your choices!

Thanks, I will look to see what Wellcare is available in my area and how much. The Mark Cuban thing sounds very smart.
10-12-25, 8:52am
rosarugosa

Tybee: There's a lot of good discussion on Bogleheads about prescription plan options.
10-12-25, 9:13am
Tybee

Quote:

Originally Posted by rosarugosa

Tybee: There's a lot of good discussion on Bogleheads about prescription plan options.

off to explore!
10-12-25, 4:19pm
pinkytoe

DH has Wellcare 0 premium with high deductible as he doesn't take any meds - yet. It was so hard to enroll at first that he called it Hellcare.
10-12-25, 4:35pm
Tybee

Quote:

Originally Posted by pinkytoe

DH has Wellcare 0 premium with high deductible as he doesn't take any meds - yet. It was so hard to enroll at first that he called it Hellcare.

I'm ruling out the Wellcare plans with 0 premium because the medicines come to 6900 a year on that one.
10-13-25, 9:49am
iris lilies

Tybee that is a lot of money for drugs on that WellCare plan.

I don’t know how much my Wellcare monthly premium is and I don’t know how much is going up in the year 2026. I know I’ve paid $400 in co-pays over 12 months. That doesn’t seem like much. I take blood pressure meds and a statin drug.
10-13-25, 11:02am
Tybee

Quote:

Originally Posted by iris lilies

Tybee that is a lot of money for drugs on that WellCare plan.

I don’t know how much my Wellcare monthly premium is and I don’t know how much is going up in the year 2026. I know I’ve paid $400 in co-pays over 12 months. That doesn’t seem like much. I take blood pressure meds and a statin drug.

They don't seem to cover the asthma drugs, not really. BP and statins tend to be really cheap drugs, I think? At least that is what I am seeing on the different plans, that the asthma drugs are the issue and some of the zero premiums don't cover them at all. the lisinopril is only like 24 dollars a year.

If I go with the most expensive premium, it is actually the lowest final number with a deductible of 130 instead of 615. The total cost is the lowest with the highest premium so maybe I will change to a more expensive plan because at least it covers the asthma drugs?

Nobody covers the one the pulmonologist wanted me on, Breo. So I think I'm not going to take that one.
10-13-25, 1:52pm
rosarugosa

Tybee: I wonder if that's the same plan my mother has, which is an AARP plan through UHC. She takes Breo, and I see that her OOP is $126 for a 3 month supply after the deductible is met. Her premium is increasing from $107.50 in 2025 to $155.10 in 2026. There is no dedt for T1 & T2 drugs, and a $130 dedt for T3 - T5.
10-13-25, 4:56pm
Tybee

It's so weird, Rosa. With the plan you mention, which sounds like it, with the first year premium being that 107 (how can they do that??) but they are charging 6000 a year for the generic Breo, and 854 a year, or 70 dollars a month, for the brand name Breo.

The Wellcare plan comes out to be 11,000 a year for meds. Definitely not doing that one.

I will have to check Good Rx for Breo.
10-13-25, 5:01pm
Tybee

Wow, I checked last year's prices on that AARP plan for Breo and the price was 94 dollars for the year and now it is up to 850 dollars for 2026, same plan. Make sure you check her plan for what is going on with that drug next year.