I never had more problems that when my insurance used them. Thankfully they dumped them last year and now use CVS Caremark. Have not had any issues since.

pharmacy you prefer

The problem with mail-order meds is what you are going through now

By going local, If your local pharmacy doesn’t have something in stock, you should be able to have the script sent to a pharmacy that does have it in stock

Also by going local, you have an option to go through facilities like goodrx which is accepted by most local pharmacies

It isn't much but why should I pay $30 for a prescription that should be free and delivered to my mailbox?

very much, then it probably isn’t an issue.

However, if you have a delay in getting a critical medication that you must have, and the mail-order indicates it is out of stock, or they don’t know when it will be back in stock, one would have to go through a local pharmacy in that case if they need the medication, copay or not

my local pharmacy does just fine by me and appreciate the business

They mail out promo materials for Optum rx all the time.
I continue to use my local large supermarket pharmacy, which is quite good . Why the hell would united health think people would want to switch to mail delivery of medicines, especially given the current usps problems.

I'm afraid they may switch over to mail delivery only, in which case I look for another plan.

flexibility with a supplemental plan, but you are paying a higher premium

Also, if you are on a supplemental, then you need a separate Part D plan for medications, while you don’t with an advantage plan

I have a supplemental health insurance plan with a separate prescription plan.
Have avoided medicare advantage for several reasons..

In Florida my supplemental plan had a monthly premium of over $165 per month. That is $2k per year. I found for routine visits to primary care physicians and specialists that the supplemental plan N paid exactly nothing over what Medicare paid. It only kicked in for hospital care. There was no dental or vision benefit either. My Part D drug premium was around $15 per month or $180 per year.

On my Medicare Advantage plan my premium is $0, my co-pays for specialists are $20, and dental and vision coverage are included. I pay nothing for my semiannual cleaning and X-rays at the dentist. I also get wellness benefits that can amount to $200-$400 per year. Part D is included and my drug costs are $0. Yes, I have to research in network doctors but so far I have been successful in finding doctors.

One problem with Medicare Advantage HMO's has been non-portability. That is important since we split time between Florida and Colorado. The AARP/UHC MA plan now is nationwide. Before I had to notify them when we were living at another address. Now the plan is nationwide.

I see no reason to go back to a supplemental plan as long as I can find doctors in network I can be comfortable with visiting.

You hit on one of the problems with Advantage - finding good doctors in your Network.

What you also find is that doctors and health care systems hate Advantage plans and in general love Supplemental plans.

This is because Advantage plans will fight tooth and nail not to pay a claim, and will force you to go through multiple lower cost alternatives before finally approving the treatment that you really need. And in some cases they won't pay claims at all.

If you remain healthy Advantage plans are fine. It's when you get seriously ill that you discover that you do indeed get what you pay for.

When I was on the the UHC Supplemental plan I chose Wellcare for Part D and their mail order pharmacy was CVS Caremark. I would gladly go with them again if I could. I started looking at the MA plans because when we changed our permanent address to Florida in 2020 my monthly premium on the supplemental plan went up 50% to $165. That caused me to look at the MA plans last year.

Last edited Mon Nov 29, 2021, 02:26 PM - Edit history (1)

I got an email today. Now Optum Rx says that their supplier does not manufacture the drug. It is listed on there website however.

She was very polite and explained that for unknown reasons the 3 in 1 medication was no longer available from their manufacturer. I know they use Mylan for some drugs and Mylan still makes it so whom do I believe?