Prescription math

[Posted for John Olesky]

Prescription math

I applied the math from my 2006 prescriptions to the 2007 changes decreed by the Canadian, even though the Guild contract for those who retired in 1996 and earlier and my retirement letter both say that I have the $2 co-pay and medical coverage for life.

As I understand the changes, and I'd be happy to recalculate if anyone, including management, finds an error in my figures, it would cost me up to $1,949.41 more a year in 2007 if I get the same monthly prescriptions that I did in 2006. I think I'm about average, since I'm in pretty good health.

Here's how I arrived at the up to $1,949.41 total of EXTRA prescription costs for 2007:

$643.41 in co-pays for the 5.4 months that it will take me to reach the $2,400 limit.

$1,450 for the donut hole, between $2,400 and $3,850, where the retiree pays everything on the prescriptions. Only what I pay is applied to go from $2,400 to $3,850, and I had NO generic prescriptions in 2006, so it's murky how much I would pay to get the same non-generic prescriptions.

$2,093.41 is the total amount that I can pay before I hit the $3,850 limit, if I ever do. As I understand it, and I'm open to correction, then the Canadian's plan would pay 100% of my prescription costs for the rest of the year, but the Canadian's plan seems to all but assure that no Guild retiree will hit the $3,850 limit.

$144.00 is the amount that I pay under the current plan, at $2 per prescription.

$1,949.41 is the difference between what I pay under the current plan and what I would pay under the Canadian's plan for the same prescriptions if I hit the $3,850 limit.