As a senior who does not take chemical medications (I see a naturopath) I did not choose a drug plan when I first began SSI. Flash forward a few years, I find out there is a penalty to not having a drug plan. Ok, I’ll pay the penalty and choose a plan. Even though I don’t use it, I may need it someday.
The PENALITY is not a one-time fee. It is each and every month, you pay that extra penalty fee, and it goes up frequently!
Where is the logic in this plan? Other than taking more money from us.
HELP!
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My aunt made the mistake also of not getting a drug plan. When she switched to a Medicare Advantage plan a few years ago, she was able to get a plan which does not include prescription drugs and therefore avoid the penalty. She and her family were using an independent insurance agent, and they found that she would be better with using the prescription discount cards, such as Good RX, instead of paying the penalty. So you might want to consider looking into the discount cards and not getting a drug plan and paying the penalty. You can put that $50/month into a bank account and then you would have it if you did need an expensive medication.
You should double-check with an insurance agent, but I would think you could wait and get a drug plan when/if you actually need an expensive medicine (but you might need to wait until the next open enrollment period).