Good morning all, we are now officially half way through the Annual Enrollment, or open season for Medicare Part D. I thought it would be appropriate to review trends that we have seen over the last 4 weeks.
The annual open enrollment period for Medicare Part D plans started quietly for us at Castell Insurance. We have seen slight monthly premium increases; $3.00 for the popular Humana Wal-Mart plan, $3.00 for the 1st Health Value Plus plan, which is still the least expensive program without a deductible. Both programs were highly recommended last year.
The new lowest priced plan in the state is from AARP and it is just $15.00 per month, but if you are on last years lowest priced plan from Humana which is now $18.80 we have told numerous people, for $3.00 dollars there is no reason to change.
The big change this year has been the Silverscript Choice program for $29.10. This program seems to be the chosen one for the independent pharmacies, Jim's in Port Angeles, the Chinook in Forks and the Tri-Area pharmacy in Port Hadlock.
In 2012, Silverscript (CVS Caremark) bought CCRx. CCRx was one of the leaders in the independent pharmacy market. If you use one of the local independent pharmacies this program could save you money on your medications.
On the Supplement market, I have some great news for people that have the Premera Blue Cross Medicare supplement Plan F. Premera has announced that you WILL NOT incur a price increase in 2013. Great news for those who were waiting to see if they would be changing to another Medicare supplement because of price in 2013.
Those on AARP Plan F with United Healthcare, should have received your notice of a 4% increase effective March 1st, 2013.
The State of Washington allows you to switch from one Medicare Supplement to another at anytime, without health questions or pre-existing condition exclusions. If you find yourself paying over $190 per month this could be a great time to review your coverage and probably save yourself some serious premium dollars.
On a final note, a shout out to our newest team member, James Castell (yes he is related). He has transitioned to The Castell Insurance team seamlessly and is now providing Home and Auto insurance to our clients with a smile and a new sense of humor. Even though he is a Husky alum, he really has it all going on in his corner office. Stop in and say hello, and if you are interested in a review bring your current policies and see if he can continue the Castell tradition of saving our clients money.
Take care and have a very happy Thanksgiving!
Although our political process may not be perfect, be thankful for the opportunity to participate and create change in the future. Is there really any place in the world where we would have greater freedom to live and raise our families? "That's all I have to say about that".(Forrest Gump)
I am here to help at any time with any questions that you may have about these changes, so feel free to call or e-mail me. I look forward to helping you.
Please send your questions and comments to
John@castellinsurance.com
