What To Do If Pharmacy Isn’t Plan Preferred
Pharmacy no longer Preferred by my Part D plan, what do I do?
This month I received a number of phone calls from clients in distress as they received a letter from their Part D plan saying their pharmacy is no longer a preferred provider. In the letter it also stated they can go to a preferred pharmacy, the closest of which was 50 miles away in a nearby town.
Understandably, they were upset. If this happens to you or someone you know the first step would be to call your pharmacy. In the circumstance that I was involved, the situation was a computer glitch that the pharmacy had already addressed. However, if this was due to the pharmacy no longer being preferred and not a computer glitch there are four things one can do to lower your cost of prescriptions: 1) If a mail order option is provided you can order your medications through there. Most plans offer mail order. It doesn’t mean you have to get all your medications that way. If your doctor orders a new prescription you can get a small supply to last until your mail order comes in. You must have your new script sent to the mail order company. The medications you get locally may cost more, but it doesn’t mean your plan won’t cover some of the cost.
2) You can enjoy a car trip every one to three months to go pick up your medications at the pharmacy suggested by your plan. Your scripts will need to be transferred by your pharmacy or doctor to the new pharmacy.
3) If you are low income and receive extra help or on Big Sky Rx (a state pharmaceutical program for those who make too much for the low-income subsidy but low enough income to qualify), you can go online on the Medicare.gov site and find a new plan in which your pharmacy is preferred. Your local SHIP counselor would be glad to help you as well. You can call Lisa Baxter at 406228-9751.
4) Do nothing. If you do nothing, it doesn’t mean your part D plan will not cover your scripts. It does mean, however, that your scripts will cost more. Sometimes the additional cost is substantial.
