medicare & extra help

I am probably going to be losing my extra help for medicare, which pays my drug premium, and seriously lowers my copays.
Got a letter yesterday saying I no longer automatically qualify, and I need to reapply.

My husbands income combined with my social security is above the income limit. My only hope is that since we have 2 kids, I can still get help.

If I don't get the help, I will have to do a complete med change because one med the copay would be $95 a month and another one would be $250 a month, not to mention the rest of the meds I am on.

I'm scared. The last time I had to do a total med change, I got suicidal really fast, od'd, and nearly died. I have tried so many other meds... I just don't know what I am going to do and I am panicking now

I would go into your local Social Security office and talk to them. There are so many parts and choices with Medicare and prescription costs that there can be things one can miss? I know I thought my Social Security application was straightforward but ended up getting more through a portion of the plan I knew nothing about and they had to help me with.

http://www.medicare.gov/your-medicar...ing-costs.html

what are you on?

Viibryd
Wellbutrin XL
Levothyroxine
Verapamil
Ambien CR
Trazodone
Migranal
Naproxen

Hey nicole,

I don't know if you are near a Walmart or not, but they have a list of $4 meds that you can look at to see if any of your meds qualify:

http://medicationfinder.walmart.com/...almart/wpp.jsp

Naproxin and Trazadone are on the $4 list as well as Levothyroxine and Verapamil.

There are other pharmacies that offer low cost generic meds as well that may be near you.

Also, many pharma's offer free or low cost medications to those who qualify. You do not have to be low income in many cases, their qualifications are different from medicaid/medicare qualifications. Go to the manufacturers website and search for their application. These can be sent through your pcp's office in many cases. If you qualify, they will ship the meds to your pcp's office for you to pick up. I get 4 months worth of meds at a time from one manufacturer.

If you are on any generic brands, ask your doctor what the name brand is. You can then apply for the name brand discount. Your local hospital may have a prescription assistance department that will apply for these meds for you.

I wish you luck and hope you find some good discounts on your meds.

Let's get together in chat and try to find a plan since you are in the Medicare open enrollment. The two real killer expensive drugs are the viibryd and the Migranal. The rest of your drugs are generic or on the 4 dollar lists. I know some stores that do the 4 dollar programs will do 10 dollars for 3 months of a drug. Are you in traditional medicare or are you in an advantage plan?

Many medicare part D drug plans have a brand discount when you are in the donut hole. With migranal and viibryd you won't be in the donut hole longer than a month. In chat we can talk about how much money per month you can afford and that will help me sort through the info. In my job i help parents find ways to afford the mega expensive drugs premature infants need, and the info translates well to helping adults.