“I have met the enemy and they are us!” – Pogo Plan D Coverage

No doubt anyone over 65 will recognize Pogo, and needs to be concerned about the cost of prescription medications. My doctor points out, prior to the inception of Obamacare the drug industry lobbyists spent in excess of $200,000 per congressman to encourage the development of a needlessly complex and inefficient system. For all they can’t seem to get right in Washington these days, they certainly appear to have achieved this goal . As best I can tell I will save $5,000 next year in prescription co-pays by changing Plan D providers. My decision is based on four different estimates of what my 10 prescriptions will cost next year. Additionally I conducted interviews with my pharmacy, and each possible provider. Ultimately three out of four estimates indicate the change of providers is appropriate. A footnote in my 2017 provider’s analysis indicates “my co-pays may be higher” if I use a retail pharmacy rather than the chain that owns my 2017 provider. Also the discussion with my pharmacy indicated substantial reduction of the cooperation between my 2017 provider and my pharmacy. It has been a lot of work, but if my co-pays in 2018 are closer to $3,500 than $8,500 the effort will be proven worthwhile. Even though I’m close to Chicago I only get one vote in the ballot box. Other than that, I have no idea what I can do to encourage reduction of elimination of the absurd complexity of drug pricing, Do you have any suggestions?