At a crossroads. Medicare or Small Group?

[LostDollar]

Caveat, not an agent

CG, thanks for comments.

I started with SilverScript, But I too have switch to Cigna after SS price increases. I go to Canada or ProgressiveRX for one med, the other stuff is T1-T2 (maybe 1 T3) but Cigna copays and retail prices for the Meds I use make their plan work out very well.

I did notice the "time-out" situation this year, I thought it was interesting when I happened to leave some windows open accidentally and came back three days later and saw my drug search still in place.

 

[Champions Gary]

Some of the drug names they made much harder to find in the rewrite. Some common drugs, they added an obscure name to the basic one word name the client knows and is on the prescription. Some, you have look past 4 or 5 off the wall suggestions to find the word that should have been on top. Very odd method of listing the actual drug names.

You can't direct the pharmacy search other than putting in a name. With a name that is not repetitive often in your local area, like Costco, it may take you through 60 names going West to East before it looks South of your zip code to where Costco is located? How about letting us type in the name as Google would?

Also when I finish the workup, I send it to the client to refer to all year long. If they call me during the year, and they do sometimes about drug prices, I take them to the form I sent them and then let them tell me what the problem is. Lots of time they are using the WRONG DRUG STORE! Or just now paying the deductible, or working with a new medication.

6 years ago some *** at Medicare removed the FORWARD button, which worked perfectly to send the selected plan to the client. Now I have to cut and paste the screen and it only allows one screen at a time, so it's about 4 cut and paste efforts to load the info on an email to the client. All of which slows things down.

How about the software folks taking suggestions directly by email from writing agents this year and directly from the clients? Who says programmers have the only good input?

GoodRX is usually the best non drug plan, plan here. I find more and more people using Krogers' (who has the same rates at Costco and HEB often) and pay them $36 to be in their club (Kroger.com/SC). That way my prescription is priced by my plan, GoodRX and the Kroger SC plan automatically. Walgreens seems to be high with most plans, CVS is not as low as in the past. Kroger / Costco and HEB grocery tended to be the lowest cost stores this year. If you have over 350 to 400 drug plans as I do, all these minor details make a world of difference in explaining them, researching the best plan, etc.