For anyone who has original Medicare, or who knows about it.
I need to switch soon from private insurance to original Medicare and have a number of questions that are difficult to get answers to. Any answers anyone has, or where else to ask would be welcome.
Is IVIG covered under original Medicare?
Is it covered under Part B, or also Part D (med plan?
What about if you have in administered in an out-patient clinic, under Part B?
I think that there is a new rule as of this year that home-care IV can be covered under Medicare, but am not sure what is what with it. My old infusion company that I went through doesn't contract with
Medicare. They did say something about Part D covering the med. But then what about the nursing and supplies---that would get way too expensive out of pocket.
Thank you!
Posted by Bartenderbonnie (Member # 49177) on :
Sorry Rumigirl
I answered your IVIG question on your IV Antibiotic post.
So while I’m here, I might as well answer your IV Antibiotic question on your IVIG post.
I have not been on IV antibiotics. Yet.
If you go with home-care, you choose a visiting nursing association. They will order your meds after your doctor faxes over your script. They will deliver your meds along with all your supplies. You have to be home to sign for it.
I believe you have to be home bound for Medicare coverage. It’s easy to be considered home bound. Just tell your doctor you are home bound. Because we are.
The homecare nurse fee is covered by Medicare part B. The meds and supplies are covered under Medicare part D. Medicare pays 80%. Patient pays 20%.
Also, the visiting nurse pharmacy department was the most helpful in navigating Medicare. I must have phoned them a dozen times and they explained the Medicare maze in layman’s terms.
Posted by Rumigirl (Member # 15091) on :
Wowee, zowee, this info is incredibly helpful!! Thank you sooo much!! That's a great idea to call the visiting nurse pharmacy department!
I wouldn't be surprised if IV treatment would help you a lot, but, I realize that means affording an LLMD, affording the meds, and navigating all of that. About that fairy Godmother . . . !!
Posted by Rumigirl (Member # 15091) on :
OMG, i am going crazy; Medicare is completely bananas!!
I've been crunching the numbers on the med plans. First of all when I first entered all of the meds that I'm on and that I may be on soon, which took forever, the Medicare website got rid of all of it without giving any info!!
So today I did it after making an account and signing in. I got a bunch of plans that are majorly expensive and don't cover a lot of the meds at all. Luckily, I made a pdf out of the "cheapest" plan, which was $72.70/month just for a med plan.
Then, it disappeared the whole thing again!! It took me forever each time to enter it all! Plus, many of the meds cost 4-5 times the cost of the meds without insurance---whaaat?? The whole thing was massively expensive. And that was the cheapest.
Many of the meds would be completely unaffordable. It might save me money on a few meds, but . . . it makes NO sense at all!
Sorry, this is a rant, and it doesn't accomplish anything. I just don't understand.
Then, there is the stupid law that doesn't allow manufacturer coupons (that I've been using for years), on the idea that it saves the government money. But the government doesn't provide the med plans; private insurance does! And those meds now will be completely unaffordable for me with no substitutes for them. Posted by Araceli (Member # 52525) on :
People who opt for traditional Medicare coverage have a Part A, which is premium free, a B and often elect for Part D because it covers prescription drugs. Parts A, B, and D carry deductibles and other cost-sharing expenses, so people may also opt for a supplement, or Medigap policy, to cover some of those costs or give them extra coverage. Another popular choice is Medicare Supplement Plan N. It makes up about a third of all Medicare policies and is particularly popular in South Florida, where 66 percent of the Medicare population has them, according to Kaiser Family Foundation research.
[ 04-08-2022, 10:40 AM: Message edited by: Araceli ]
Posted by hiker53 (Member # 6046) on :
Rumigirl,
I am not looking forward to Medicare at all. Doesn't seem to make sense that it costs more for drugs with Medicare than without but that is the government's fault.
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