Before I went on Medicare, I used their on-line calculator -- adding the meds I take which gave me the approximate time I would hit the doughnut hole. Initially, it was MAY!!! Crap, that simply can't happen. So I sat down with my Dr. to go over everything -- converted all that I could to generics, some of which would only be $4 if I paid out of pocket. There were a couple that were on the high end expensive so I was better off using my RX plan to pay for them.
It took a lot of work, figuring med prices, where to get them (never in a million years would I go to Walmart). In the 5 years I've done this, I hit the hole only once. Reevaluated the meds, made another change, and for the past three years, I haven't hit the hole.
With drug prices generally going up, I'll probably have to run the figures again to be sure I stay out of the hole. Paying for generics out of pocket is less expensive than having to pay about $500 a month for just one of the drugs I take if I hit the doughnut hole.
I'm also not shy about asking my Dr. if there is a generic equivalent or if a less expensive drug would do the same job. I avoid "new" meds anyway, not only because they are so much more expensive, but too often they find out that they rot your insides or have horrible side effects. I'd rather take something that has been on the market for five years or more so there is a track record.
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