After entering your zip code (and more detail if you want), answering questions about the type of Medicare you currently have (or less detail if you want), and your drug list, Step 3 in signing up for a public Part C Medicare Advantage health plan (or Part D plan for that matter) is picking a preferred pharmacy.
Preferred has two meanings when using the Medicare Plan Finder:
- Obviously you can pick the pharmacy you prefer because it is near your home or you like Fred the Pharmacist or you "go to Target anyways once a week" or... (you can even indicate to the Plan Finder how far away the pharmacy should be and it will only indicate pharmacies within a certain radius of your zip code)
- But Part C and Part D Medicare plans almost all have preferred pharmacies as well. So if you're willing to drive across town and/or kiss old Fred good bye, you might save some serious money.
There is no particular rule of thumb with the plans' preferred pharmacies other than to use the Plan Finder two ways... once with your preference and once with each of the big name-brand retail drug stores as preference... and see if there are any savings involved. Many people around the United States only have big box pharmacies to choose from these days but there are almost multiple such choices.
There are likely be savings if you use a lot of generics (they are often "free" -- that is, no co-pay -- at the plan's preferred pharmacy) or if you use a particular kind of expensive brand-name drug where the plan has a special deal with the pharmaceutical's manufacturer or distributor. If like most of us, you only use a few generics, then you need to decide if a few bucks saved is worth the time and gas of driving across town... and the hard feelings with Fred.
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