[gratitude]

When I signed up for Medicare I was told that there is a penalty either for not signing up for Part D, or for signing up later and being responsible for the years not paid in. Not sure which, and not sure exact wording, but please check so you’ll have the full picture before deciding. I went to a Shiba representative – free consultation by volunteers helping people with Medicare. There may be something like that in your state. Good luck.

[Paul Smith]

I get my health care primarily via the VA and I go through this every year.

Keep your Part D. Look for the Medicare Advantage plans with Part B buyback benefits plus Dental/OTC meds/Optical that best minimizes your out of pocket expenses while providing the best services/service providers you can find. I am using Grok this year to help compare and contrast providers’ plans. Try it before you decide.

P.S. Stand alone dental plans cost $45 to $65 a month which might decrease your total annual expense. Do the same with stand alone optical plans if it applies.

[Ken Jackson]

Thanks, shortstop. I’ve heard way too many horror stories about Medicare Advantage to even consider it.

[Gregory Pilcher]

Ken — I’m in exactly the same situation as you. So far I haven’t dropped Part D because it doesn’t cost me anything. Basic Medicare does cost me and so I’m considering dropping out altogether. I exited the corrupt insurance-based medical system long ago. I don’t use their doctors and I don’t take their drugs. The only reason for me to have insurance would be to get put back together after a calamity like a car wreck or fire. (I won’t take their treatments for things like cancer). But, like you, I haven’t yet canceled.

[Ken Jackson]

Thanks, gibberly. I too selected zero-dollar-premium Part D policies the first two years, but for 2027 the cheapest plan I see will cost $63.60/year with $700.00 deductible. I don’t expect to need it, though I’m hesitant to cut myself off from the possibility of getting reasonable drug coverage in the future. I HATE the hatefully corrupt Medicare rules!

I still pay for Part B and a supplemental insurance plan (HDG). I don’t plan to drop either of those even if I don’t used them. But I never had a drug plan before starting Medicare. I always paid out-of-pocket. So I’m considering picking up where I left off.

[Dr. Wawa]

Some people buy their medications in Mexico.

[Tanya Marquette]

I can’t tell you what to do but for me, I have refused Part D as I refuse to use drugs at all. Instead I work to build my immune system with real food, organic as best possible. The Environmental Working Group does a great service by annually posting lists of the most chemicalized foods and the least chemicalized ones to help people chose what foods to insist on buying organic and others that are tolerable to buy commercially. I only buy fruits and veggies that have thick skin to peel off like oranges. I also subscribe to the Terrain Theory instead of the Germ Theory which operates on the ideology of a foreign invader that must be killed with a poison; ie a medical drug.

As for Medicare Advantage, I stay away from that model as it is dishonest and over time will take the block payments it receives and pays increasing salaries to executives while increasingly limiting services to the people. It is enticing with its coverage of dental and vision and hearing but I found this to be deceptive as they have virtually no practitioners that will take these insurances or they will perform only in perfunctory manner. That is my personal experience when I signed up for the plan. It took only about 1 month to realize the falseness of this program. Since then I have talked with and heard from many who had the same experience as myself. Further, signing up is very simple but getting out the plan is frustrating as they strongly resist you.

[madridjunctionpm-me]

Dropped mine last year. No regrets. Even before dropping it I’d vowed never to take another drug still on patent. In 2026 did not break that vow, and indeed am only taking one drug, and it was introduced back in the early 1960’s when I was 10 years old: i.e. cheap.

If you look up the terms of the “penalty,” it’s not like a fine. It’s a percentage increase of the amount you’d pay if you signed back up later, increasing according to the time you’ve been off Part D. I ran a couple of scenarios in my head, and it seemed a lot less scary and more affordable, even if I changed my mind later.

Maybe I’m the fool the experts claim I am, but I tend to think there are a lot of scare tactics at work to allow “them” to keep charging ridiculous amounts for designer drugs. If you are in love with designer drugs, stay on Part D. If you’ve had it up to your eyeballs with Pharma, just walk away from it.

[Ken Jackson]

“Dropped mine last year. No regrets.”
Thank you, madrid. I’m pleased for the encouragement.

[judy-j]

My husband and I dropped part D about 2 years ago. Was costing a fortune and hadn’t used any of it for over 5 years. Same thing the other person said about signing back up if you needed to. You can read the rules on that. I wouldn’t take 95% of the drugs they have anyway so am happy to not be paying for it.

[Ken Jackson]

“Dropped mine last year. No regrets.”
Thank you, judy. I appreciate the encouragement. I’m leaning that way.

[ecarvs2]

I am a Licensed Insurance Agent and would like to give ya’ll some info regarding this.

Part D does not require you to take a drug plan if you have other coverage that is considered creditable by Medicare. But if you go 63 days or more without Part D or creditable prescription coverage after you are eligible, Medicare may add a late-enrollment penalty when you enroll later. The penalty is based on how many full months you went without coverage, and it is added to your monthly plan premium for as long as you have Part D. It does not matter whether you were taking prescriptions during that gap.

If you drop your drug plan effective January 1 and do not have other creditable prescription coverage, you may not be able to add a Part D plan back until the next fall’s Annual Enrollment Period (Oct 15-Dec 7 yearly), with coverage beginning January 1 of the following year. In the meantime, you would pay your own prescription costs. Because the gap would exceed 63 days, Medicare may also add a late-enrollment penalty to your Part D premium when you come back.

I hope this helps.

[Ken Jackson]

: “In the meantime, you would pay your own prescription costs.”
Yes. And if the future is like my history, it’ll be less expensive that way.

: “…, Medicare may also add a late-enrollment penalty to your Part D premium when you come back.”
I know that’s the rule, but the rule has a stench of corruption about it.

Also, that’s not very informative. What if I go several years without coverage? Will the penalty get bigger and bigger for each year I’m not covered? If it does, it will provide me bigger and bigger incentive to never enroll again.

[Dish14]

Even if you don’t take prescription drugs now, consider getting Medicare drug coverage. If you decide to not get it when you are first eligible, and you don’t have other creditable prescription drug coverage (like drug coverage from an employer or union) or get Extra Help, you will pay a late enrollment penalty that’s added to your monthly premium if you join later. Generally, you will pay this penalty for AS LONG AS YOU HAVE MEDICARE drug coverage. Currently the late enrollment penalty is calculated by multiplying 1% of the “national base beneficiary premium” ($38.99 in 2026) by the number of full, uncovered months that you were eligible but didn’t have Part D and went without creditable prescription drug coverage. The final amount is rounded to the nearest $0.10 and added to your monthly premium. Ask someone at your local council on aging or senior center or a SHIP (State Health Insurance Assistance Program) for guidance.

[Ken Jackson]

Thank you, Dish14. I knew the basics of the information you posted, though I didn’t know about the 1% calculation. The evildoers in Medicare, CMS and the insurance industry have structured this such that we can’t just choose what’s best, we have to gamble.

For 2027, I would have to spend $764 (premium plus deductible) on prescriptions to break even. Based on my experience, that’s unlikely. And presumably the premium will go up and up in the following years.

If it weren’t for the very lucrative cancer industry, I wouldn’t even consider it. That industry knows they hold your life in their hands if you suffer the disease they manage, so they can charge a king’s ransom for their drugs. And people who opted to get the insurance won’t even be hurt by their immoral prices.

But there have been two new developments in that consideration. One is the alternate treatments that are curing cancer without the cancer industry’s permission. Two is the “most favored nation” pricing that is bringing down the prices of prescription drugs.

Another consideration is my own policy of never taking a new drug. New drugs can and do sometimes kill people. If an old drug is still available, it’s less likely to kill me and is also probably less expensive.

• This reply was modified 1 day, 11 hours ago by  Ken Jackson.

[gnobis]

Where I live and at my age, my 2 least expensive medicare D plans are at approx $5 and $9 per month. I take minimal generic cheap meds typically; however, I had an urgent medical situation this year that caused me to take a number of Rx eye pressure meds since July. If I did not have a part D plan these would be have been expensive (based on past experience prior to Medicare). My choice is an inexpensive plan as mentioned. There are also very pricey >$100 per month plans. I don’t know why anyone would buy them. I also check the part D plans on the Medicare website yearly–it is easy to do and USG has done a reasonable job on that software tool.