In my last post, I chronicled my journey into the jungle of prescription drug plans. I think I’m getting closer to finding a way out, however I only have until December 7th to enroll in a plan. Time is of the essence!

I still needed to see a side-by-side illustration with all my prescriptions, and where they fall on the tiers of coverage most insurance companies use. New drugs and other specialty drugs will not be on any tier. If that happens and you’re looking at Part D plans, your doctor can apply for an exemption. While it may be granted, these drugs will not be part of the tier pricing.  As a Part D plan participant, you will find that although you received an exemption, the cost of the drug will be higher than tier drugs.

Feeling somewhat confident in my own research, I went back to the comparison site to input my drug list. The chart displayed four Part D plans that included my prescriptions. There were differences in the four options, however all covered my prescription drugs. Surprisingly, my existing drug plan was not on the chart! I was ready to enroll in a plan with a new provider; I still wanted to take one more look at my existing coverage. I saved the chart on the site.

The next time I logged into the website only one of my prescriptions was listed. When I tried adding my other prescriptions, there was a message saying that there was a problem, and I should try again in an hour. You can probably guess the outcome. Two days later and I’m getting the same statement message.

AGAIN, I called the customer line to get some assistance. What did I think was going to happen? After speaking to four “advocates” (only one was licensed to sell insurance in New York) I actually reached someone who was licensed and able to look into my account. She had never seen this message, so she indicated she would contact the tech group and find out what the problem was. I would hear back Friday afternoon. Needless to say, I heard nothing, and I still can’t add my prescriptions.

Hopefully, I will figure something out by the December 7th deadline. I could say “at least it’s only one year” but that is a sorry comment for a person who knowledgeable about prescription drug plans. What happens when an individual really does not know what to do? Stay on it. You’ll be happy you did.