Medicare Long Term Care Savings Through Plan Reviews
Article 6: Annual Plan Reviews That Turned Medicare Confusion into Real Savings
Throughline
Staying in the same Medicare plan year after year feels safe. For some people, it is the most expensive choice they never meant to make, especially when Medicare Part D plans and other Medicare health plans change behind the scenes.
When Doing Nothing Becomes Costly
In a testimonial transcript published by the SHIP National Technical Assistance Center, octogenarian Eloise Dennis explains why she and her husband stayed with the same prescription drug plan for years. They were not comfortable with change, and navigating government websites felt overwhelming, so they did what many Medicare beneficiaries do: they left their Medicare prescription drug coverage alone and assumed their Medicare Part D plan would stay affordable.
That changed when premiums and drug costs began to climb. “After a year, there were many differences in the premiums,” she recalled. “So I thought, ‘well this is worth a little comparative shopping.’ I was not too adept at navigating the government website, but I had seen SHIP offering this service, and I thought, ‘I think that’s the way to go.’” Her story mirrors what happens for many people searching for better Medicare Part D plans or wondering whether their current Medicare plan is still the right fit during Medicare open enrollment.
The Moment the Numbers Changed
At her SHIP counseling appointment, Eloise watched as her counselor compared actual plans side by side based on her medications. “One year a drug was 41 dollars. The next year it was 3 dollars with another company. This doesn’t seem right, but it’s so,” she said in the same transcript; with guidance, she switched to a different Medicare Part D plan that covered the same medication for a fraction of the cost, and she saw most of her prescriptions drop to just a few dollars per fill.
Eloise did not stop there. “Almost every year, it was to our benefit to change carriers,” she explained, describing how returning to SHIP for annual reviews kept her prescription costs low instead of letting them rise unchecked as plans changed formularies and premiums. Her experience shows that the savings were not a one‑time windfall but the result of repeating the same review process each year and treating Medicare open enrollment as a chance to check whether her Medicare prescription drug plan still matched her medication needs.
A case study from a SHIP‑affiliated open‑enrollment event describes a Medicare beneficiary identified as Mr. A who had also stayed in a zero‑premium Part D plan for years because it had always seemed affordable. When a counselor entered his current prescriptions into the official comparison tool, they discovered that if he stayed in his familiar plan his annual drug costs would jump from about 542 dollars to 3,276 dollars the next year, while switching to a different plan would keep his annual costs near 360 dollars; by changing Medicare Part D plans during open enrollment, he avoided roughly 2,900 dollars in extra drug costs for that year alone.
When Counseling Protects More Than One Household
Another SHIP beneficiary, Mary Crandall, described the stakes bluntly in a testimonial featured on the SHIP Medicare Stories page. “You shouldn’t have to decide between food or medication…the Medicare counselors help…get you the cheapest program, the program that works best for you,” she said. Her point was not about chasing the absolute lowest price every year; it was about avoiding the slow drift that forces older adults into choices no one should have to make, like cutting back on groceries to keep up with rising drug costs when a Medicare Part D plan or Medicare Advantage plan quietly becomes more expensive.
Taken together, stories like Eloise’s, Mary’s, and Mr. A’s show how simple, repeatable actions — listing current medications, using the Medicare Plan Finder with a SHIP counselor, and sorting Medicare prescription drug plans by total estimated yearly cost rather than premium alone — can prevent large, unexpected jumps in out‑of‑pocket spending.
The Compounding Effect of Annual Reviews
Over time, small course corrections add up. Each annual review can bring:
Lower monthly premiums or copays in the upcoming year when people compare Medicare Part D plans or switch to a Medicare health plan that better fits their prescriptions.
Fewer surprise costs when formularies or preferred pharmacies change because someone has checked whether their current Medicare prescription drug plan still lists their medications and pharmacies as preferred.
Over five or ten years, staying engaged with counseling can mean thousands of dollars kept in a household instead of lost to unnoticed plan changes, as Eloise’s repeated plan changes and Mr. A’s avoided 2,900‑dollar increase illustrate. For people living on fixed incomes, that difference shows up directly in whether there is enough left each month for food, housing, and other essentials.
Common Questions About Reviewing Medicare Drug Plans
How often should I review my Medicare prescription drug plan?
Most people benefit from reviewing their Medicare Part D plan every year during Medicare open enrollment, especially if their medications, preferred pharmacy, or plan premiums have changed.
What tools can help me compare Medicare Part D plans?
Many beneficiaries use the Medicare Plan Finder on Medicare.gov, often with a SHIP counselor’s help, to compare Medicare prescription drug plans by total yearly cost, including premiums, deductibles, and copays rather than premium alone.
Does this apply if I have a Medicare Advantage plan with drug coverage?
Yes. People in Medicare Advantage plans that include prescription drug coverage can also review their options during Medicare open enrollment to see whether another Medicare Advantage plan or a standalone Medicare Part D plan paired with traditional Medicare would better match their current medications and budget.
Pay It Forward
Every small act of sharing creates a ripple. If this piece resonated with you, consider sending it to someone who might need the same hope today—or leave us a comment in the section below with your own saving story so thousands can benefit from it. No one should have to navigate the cost of illness alone.
Verification Note
Testimonial Transcript – SHIP Client Eloise Dennis (State Health Insurance Assistance Program National Technical Assistance Center, July 2017):
SHIP TA Center – Medicare Stories (including beneficiary quotes from Mary Crandall):
https://www.shiphelp.org/what-we-do/medicare-stories/
SHIP TA Center – Testimonial Transcripts Index:
https://www.shiphelp.org/what-we-do/medicare-stories/testimonial-transcripts/
Case Study – Mr. A’s Medicare Open Enrollment Plan Comparison (Alabama SHIP case study “Case Study: The Value of Medicare Open Enrollment Plan Comparisons”):
https://janneallaw.com/2016/10/21/case-study-the-value-of-medicare-open-enrollment-plan-comparisons/
Get Medicare Help from Your Local SHIP Program – SHIP TA Center (open enrollment counseling information):