Has anyone had any problems with $0 premium

[Ilsa]

Medicare Part D coverage? I won't meet my deductible (I take 4 prescription meds) on this or if I renewed my 2025 plan which is doubling in cost.

[SheltieLover]

1. Who offers it?

[Ilsa]

8. Humana and WellCare. nt

[SheltieLover]

12. I've had the Wellcare one & np with it.

[murielm99]

26. Same here.

I am sticking with it for next year.

We go to our senior center. A person from the state's department on aging compares plans and pharmacies for us and helps us find the best one. This help used to be the best kept secret in the area. I just walked in and got help. Now I need an appointment and I need to either mail or drop off a list of my meds so they can figure it out in advance for me and for my husband. Everyone should look for this type of help in their area.

[SheltieLover]

27. My senior center hosting Council on Aging folks is precisely how I found my gap & Part D coverages!

Great resource, free, & no ins broker involved to take advantage of us!

[UpInArms]

2. You might check

out WellCare …

It’s worked for me and my hubby

[Ilsa]

7. Thank you. There were two $0 premium plans

from WellCare in my zip code. It has the highest rating for no-cost, low-cost plans.

[RussBLib]

18. I had Wellcare last year and will keep it next year

Hard to beat a $0 premium and since all my meds are generic, the Rx's are $0 too. For the rare issue requiring a name-brand, those Rx's are never over $30. I thought they might increase costs for the next year, but I'll bet this one is a loss leader of some kind, taking a loss on $0 meds and enabling the company to write off elsewhere on their taxes, but I'm no accountant.

It's nice to find something that actually works well, and for me, it has.

Sounds like you got your answer.

[Ms. Toad]

21. There are drugs on Wellcare that are well over $30.

Jardiance and Januvia are. Potassium Citrate often is (although all plans have gotten better on that one). I'm sure there are others.

But they are as cheap on Wellcare are as on any other plan, when you take into account the $0 or low cost premiums.

[RussBLib]

25. I'm sure you are right

I have been lucky in that I've not needed any of those high-priced drugs. If you do, another plan is probably better.

[Ms. Toad]

28. Actually - it is still the best plan most of the time.

Paying higher premiums doesn't actually buy you cheaper drugs. Generally you are just paying a fortune on premiums (which aren't capped), and you have the same $2000-ish cap on drugs regardless of plan.

In the 5 years we've been on Medicare, my spouse's total out of pocket cost has been lower on a more expensive plan only one time - and the free plan was a close second) We used a different plan for her twice (slightly higher overall cost - but fewer different drug sources to remember - so we paid a bit more for convenience)

[NoRethugFriends]

3. Just use the website and it'll tell you your total cost for the year including premiums and drugs

[1WorldHope]

4. Look up your state or county Department of Insurance or

look for the SHIIP program. Senior Health Insurance Information Program. They can help you find the best plan that fits you. They do it for free and they will do it yearly. Google it for your state.

[Ilsa]

9. Thanks, I'll check out SHIIP. nt

[PXR-5]

5. I just signed up for

the Humana $4.40 plan. I don't take any meds, just didn't want to pay penalties in the future.
I think it has a 600$ deductible.

[KT2000]

6. I have that from Wellcare

and it works well for me. A couple of the ones I take cost $15 for 90 day supply. Check out the formulary to see what level the drugs you you take are on.

[NewHendoLib]

10. I thought Wellcare (0 dollars premium) was great for us last year - we are staying with it despite the premium going to

around 3.60. Using this, combined with GoodRX, gives us great prices for all of our meds.

[SheltieLover]

13. Will taking no action renew it for me?

Ty!

[NewHendoLib]

16. Yup. Medigap supplementals and part D plans autorenew if no new elections are made.

[SheltieLover]

19. Tyvm, NHL!

[Ms. Toad]

22. We use both GoodRx and Costco for some of our drugs.

Although the number of drugs it was cheaper to buy of plan was near zero last year. I haven't done this year's calculations yet.

[Ilsa]

11. THANK YOU EVERYONE! nt

[MIButterfly]

14. I have Wellcare Part D and it's not 0 premium, not by a longshot.

I got a letter from them today and nowhere in that letter did they mention how much it's going up for 2026. I have been all over their website and nowhere does it say how much it will go up for 2026. I guess I'll have to call them tomorrow and waste 40 minutes trying to find out how much it will go up in 2026.

I have a Medigap supplemental but it's not Wellcare.

[Ilsa]

15. You might be able to get your Part D quote

from WellCare for 2026 on the Medicare.gov website. That's how I discovered my SilverScript was going to double.

[Ms. Toad]

23. It varies by geography.

But it's generally the cheapest, and often zero. This will be my 5th year on it. Premiums are $0 for 3 years, about $8 for next year, and under $10 the other year it wasn't $0.

[Demsrule86]

17. I have a giveback plan with Devoted to pay Part B...hubs and I have both have it.

Puts $370.00back in our pocket per month. We pay no premium for the plan also...been very happy with it...was quite sick this year...but hopefully it is resolved.

[Ms. Toad]

20. I've been on Wellcare $0 premium.

My spouse has, as well. No problems for either of us. My meds are relatively cheap. My spouse's are expensive (she's been on both Jardiance and Januvia). Most of the time it's the cheapest overall for both of us. Last year a $10 premium plan from Cigna was cheapest for her. This year Wellcare is best - but in our area it is around $7.

Diabetes testing supplies are always a pain, regardless of which plan we're on.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

24. I pay $0 for Wellcare. It's worked well for a year and I'm continuing with it next year.

But you need to run your prescriptions through the Medicare web site to get the whole picture on your total costs.

Get moving, you only have a few weeks

[NameAlreadyTaken]

29. I have the WellCare one

I pay $0 per month this year, but it will be $2.75 per month next year.

The medications I take have generic equivalents, so it covers them and I have not had to pay for any out of pocket. There was only one antibiotic ointment that I had to pay $5 for, for some reason.

But my doctor wanted to prescribe a medication which is still under patent. It turned out my first month would have cost me $550.

And then a similar payment each month until I reached my out of pocket maximum of $2000. So I declined that medication, but it didn't really matter in the long run. But for some patients the expensive medication may be necessary.

I would study the formulary carefully to make sure all your medications are covered and what tier they are on. The WellCare site has a chat feature where you can ask directly what a particular medication would cost on your plan. That will give you the true picture of your costs.

The only annoying thing about WellCare is that they called me a lot and sent me a lot of texts snd email messages asking about my medications.