My plan offers a bit more, I think it's $60 ( was $75 last year). I can use it at an assortment of places- Costco, Walmart, CVS, and a few local supermarkets that I know of.

I still feel it's a nice little perk. It's a racket, but I feel like I'm doing well with it. Since we get most of our rx from CVS and we are in their "club",,, we also get $5 credit for filling an rx there, and along with a 30% or 40% bonus, and I can pay way l. ess than Walmart price for some items. For example, lumify might be $12 at Walmart and $16 at CVS, but with the discounts and all I can pay like $6 for it... and it's not actually out of my pocket so to speak.

Generally, the products they cover make sense, but there are some where certain brands are covered but others are not.

Whatever, I still feel like it's a nice gimme.

I am not criticizing, merely observing that someone put thought into setting this up and is being amply rewarded. I would have bought the Crest soon anyway, usually I have spare tubes but this time I'm almost out.

Traditional 'drugstores' are no bargain whether you are paying out of pocket or through an Advantage plan. I still go to Walgreens for the convenience - time and gas - but honestly I don't know what would be cheaper. Target? That's 30 minutes from me. Walmart? That's 20 minutes and I need a shower when I get home ;-)

I no longer have that 'perk', I switched from my BC/BS Advantage plan to traditional Medicare this year. That perk amount went steadily down each year I was on the plan, initially $90/quarter which was actually hard to use up since DH and I had the same plan, and now it's $35 for him. I know there have been discussions here in the past about Advantage vs Traditional and I don't want to get into that, we all do what feels best for us. But I was surprised that my cost actually went down with the switch.

I switched from my BC/BS Advantage plan to traditional Medicare this year.

How did you do that? Did you have to buy an additional Medigap plan?

I've never had an Advantage plan so no experience with the "free" OTC stuff. I prefer original Medicare plus a BCBS supplement so I can go wherever I want with no insurance company controlling the network of providers. I have a G plan which is basically a higher premium but no deductibles or copays. It's considerably more expensive than what friends pay for their Advantage plans. The part D drug plans though are ridiculously complicated in terms what's covered and at what level. I have an inexpensive premium that went from $0 to $4 this year and the price of one of my meds went from $10 to $125. So I don't use the plan for that drug and buy it instead from Azon Pharmacy for $25. All that is such that I would never allow a new prescription to be sent to the Part D plan without first checking the coverage because I could probably get it cheaper from Azon, GoodRX or the like. All overly complicated but I'm thankful to have insurance and the freedom to get care wherever I want that will take me. So far no one has turned down Medicare though it can take a while to get in with some providers, especially if you want to see a physician rather than a PA, NP, etc.

@lucillle - not sure what you mean by how did I do that - there is a sign up period where you can make changes - is that what you mean? Happy to answer but not sure what you are asking. As for the Medi-gap plans, that is not a requirement with Medicare but I don't know anyone who doesn't have one. I did sign up for that and a Drug plan. My previous Advantage plan was with BC/BS of NC and I chose a BC/BS Medi-gap so there was no underwriting necessary. No clue what rules are with other companies or in other states - it's not consistent. I am not on any meds so opted for a basic and inexpensive drug plan. Once in a blue moon something comes up - had a UTI a few years ago, that kind of thing. And if things change and I suddenly need prescriptions regularly, drug coverage can be changed. My medi-gap plan and drug coverage combined are less than what my new Advantage premium would have been. Not by a ton, about $20/month. I watched my in-laws both deal with limits on their Advantage plans that would not have been an issue with Medicare so I opted to change. Not that it's all hunkey-dory with traditional Medicare as I've watched my brother have to jump through some hoops - such as with hospital coverage if an ER visit doesn't result in an admission or the admission comes after midnight after a day spent in the ER, it doesn't count that first day, limits on PT after surgery..... not a perfect system.

A lot of different options. My supplemental plan includes a $100 OTC benefit every 6 months, but it is limited to a small number of items on a specific CVS website. Not much I would buy. Other friends with an Advantage plan in a different metro area have a card they can use almost everywhere, with a $100 per quarter benefit for each of them. Then another friend receives a catalog that she orders from, I think she has a $250 per year benefit.

Picking the best plan is complicated and making a mistake can be an expensive mistake. Medicare Advantage Plans offer a lot of extras, offer low or even no premiums, but often carry out of pocket maximums that run 5 or 6k. As long as you dont have any serious issues they are cost effective, but as we age and have more issues those 5 or 6k a year gets expensive, and once you get an Advantage plan it is more expensive to get the part n or part g plans. The extra perks are just ways to make you feel your getting a good deal.

Jennifer Hogan I agree with you 99%. Switching from an Advantage plan doesn't automatically mean you you pay a penalty for the gap policy though. I was with BC/BS Advantage and stayed with them for the gap policy when I went to traditional medicare in part because there was no penalty and no underwriting. No idea if other companies offer something similar like if you're with United Healthcare Advantage and then chose them for the gap, or if it's available from BC/BS in all states or not. There is a lot of scare tactic counseling I found, and inaccurate info from supposed experts.

You're right, lucille, someone appears to be making a killing on at least some of these OTC benefit plans. For the last few years, Kaiser used Medline online exclusively for their over the counter benefit. The prices were insane and the selection of items to purchase was dismal. A bottle of plain old Jergens lotion went for over $34.00 whereas you could get the exact same thing for less than $10 anywhere else. The "perk" was pretty useless. This year they switched to a benefit that uses a card that allows the $$ to be used at more places, including Walmart and Costco. The benefit is less, but the product selection is infinitely better and the $$ go much further since Medline is no longer blatantly ripping off their customers. Advantage perks are not a determining factor for me when choosing coverage. They change from year to year and aren't something to be counted on. One year Kaiser pulled the gym membership perk, the one benefit that might actually help someone become healthier. It returned the following year, but could easily disappear again.

Not an expert here, but knowledgeable enough to know that there is not a one size fits all answer as to what is best. It's a combination of each person's health and financial situation as well as what emotionally feels best.

One other point is that plans offered are COUNTY specific, not state or city .

The "Experts" are generally insurance agents being paid on commission - Advantage plans generally offer a higher commission and are an easy sell with the low monthly premiums.

" Initial Sales: Agents frequently earn significantly more, sometimes three times more, in the first year by selling a Medicare Advantage plan compared to a Medigap policy."

Advantage plans are good for some people, especially those who are on a Medi Medi plan (Medicare/Medicaid) where Medicaid subsidizes the Medicare costs, but not the best for many others.

Nerdwallet has a fairly good explanation of the differences.

https://www.nerdwallet.com/insurance/medicare/learn/medicare-vs-medicare-advantage.

I looked at the choices for my sister and a few friends in the past year and helped them evaluate their bottom line costs based on past and known medical issues.

1 was better off with a Medi-Medi plan. The other 3 were all best served with a Plan N Medigap coverage. (Plan N and Plan G are similar, and in the state where I live physicians are not allowed to charge "excess" charges that are covered under plan G and not covered by Plan N).

You do need to understand the nuances of your particular circumstance to figure out what is best for you.

When selecting the appropriate Part N plan I also looked at their historical rate increases year over year. Some offered lower initial costs than the plan I recommended (Mutual of Omaha), but the 5 year average was higher due to more rapidly increasing charges.

Some agents also make recommendations based on biases that I am not sure they recognize. One of the people I assisted met with an agent that had previously recommended a Medigap policy for another person I knew, but not only during the initial meeting, but again when we did a second meeting to finalize things he recommended a Medicare Advantage plan and mentioned the Silver Sneakers benefit. The person was a black male who was a high school and college athlete. His income wasn't as high as the previous person, but it was high enough that he would receive no extra benefits or reductions in costs based on income.

1st year the Advantage plan premium would have been $1200 less than the Part N, but he would have incurred $6000 in out of pocket costs as he needed knee replacement surgery. It would take 5 years of reduced monthly payments to equal the savings he got the first year by purchasing the Plan N policy.

I don't believe it was a conscious bias that made the agent offer the wrong plan, but subconsciously I think he equated black to being poor and equated someone in a blue collar job vs white collar job as poor, but we cannot make assumptions and need to actually evaluate plans based on income post retirement. I called the agent privately after the 2nd meeting and expressed my concerns. He was apologetic and I hope he learned from the experience.