Chicagoan Jonathan Winans, 75, is curtailing costs in this time of high gas and food prices, in part, by zeroing in on prescription costs. The retired Dominick’s deli manager has high blood sugar, high cholesterol, arthritis and a heart condition. He’s on a dozen medications, and his wife, Elaine, 76, is on the medication Plaquenil for her arthritis.
“I have my doctor write prescriptions for pills at twice the dose and prescribe half a pill,” he said.
Then Winans cuts the pills in half with a pill cutter.
“Prescriptions last twice as long with just a little more cost,” he said.
With the couple only having Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage, costs are a heavy burden, he said. That’s especially true when the “doughnut hole” kicks in for him in the last four or five months of the year, he added. Under Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage, Medicare will pay a percent of drug coverage, minus the deductible, up to a total drug cost of $3,700. After that, seniors have to foot the bill for the costs until they’ve spent $4,950 out-of-pocket and coverage resumes.
The Winans’ other cost-cutting ways:
• • “I’ve learned to cut back on gas by ‘stacking’ errands and routing them to put on the least miles,” he said. “I’ll sit down and draw a little map and say, ‘Well, I’ll go to here to here to here.’ I’ll do all [the errands] on a Saturday or a Sunday so that I can get as many trips out of the way as possible with the least amount of mileage.”
• • The couple also dine out less. “I’ve learned how to cook some of those fabulous restaurant meals by watching cooking shows and Googling recipes,” he said.
So because I am older now and retired I have to cut back on the things I enjoy! No more eating out on Friday night. No more shopping with my grown children and being able to by them dinner sometimes! It is just a blast to get old!
I asked my doctor to write me a prescription for double dose and she told me that was fraud.
Your Dr. should be your EX Dr.!!!
Most Doctors are sensitive to drug costs…sounds like you need to drop this mutt.
Good luck on finding a new “mutt!” Whether you like it or not, the doc who said doubling the dose is fraud is right. Sure, we try to find ways to cut the outrageous costs of meds, and medical help in general, but asking the “mutt” to put his/her neck on the line is wrong. Period. Maybe we all need to listen to the Democratic presidential candidates’ plans to get ‘Medicare for all’ or something like it, to cut our costs. The joke/thug/narcissist we have at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. right now has been cutting a fat hog on YOUR and MY dime too long. Let’s get a Democrat in office again, who works for us, not himself.
Bill S,
You don’t understand “Medicare for all”. That would include all the illegal folk who have invaded America. But what you don’t actually get is that the dems preach “we will make it easier for you” but they have absolutely no way of paying for such a stupid program. Ask people in Britain or Canada how they like their socialized medicine for all. I am a nurse of 48 years. We had people come from Canada just to get treated because they were months down the list to even see a specialist, sometimes even their family doctor. One woman I remember esp came here because she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. And her first hope of seeing a cancer doctor was 5 months away,she said if she was lucky. She had an aggressive cancer and was so happy that we could start treatment immediately after having some tests done. You think those dems are going to share your Medicare for all? Heck no, they will continue the best of medical care paid by You and Me. They aren’t giving up an iota of their life-long retirement program or their medical care. AT least the person you call all the derogatory names is looking at how to rein in the drug companies, more than those dems have ever done. If you don’t think Congress doesn’t enjoy their privileges that lobbyists (all kinds) provide them, you are truly delusional. The dems are great liars and aren’t working for the American public. In my opinion (and I know that doesn’t count with you), we are fortunate to finally have someone who is NOT a politician in the WH. Too bad the dems have woven such a deceitful, crooked and desperate web thruout our government and our land. I never thought that Americans could be bought to betray their country. But it has happened just as Khrushchev predicted, hasn’t it? And those like you are convinced by the devil’s lies. Please do some investigation before just falling in line with those who can’t think for themselves and just absorb what the general media fabricate and distort and omit from the truth. Remember they have been bought as well.
Exactly. George Soros owns the dems and the rinos in our government. The ones trying to take Trump down are either involved in the Ukraine mess or are fellow members of the Council on Foreign Relations, and are taking their instructions in trying to take this country and other free nations down.
well said
KW is exactly right about the Democrats! They don’t care for us American Citizens at all. I’m so sorry that they stole the election from President Donald Trump. We are in for a horrible time now under this current president. It will be worse than the Obama era ever was. Illegals will be coming in and taking our hard earned tax payers money to support them. Donald Trump cared about the USA and us citizens and did everything to help us by building the wall and was cutting out giving money to China and Iranian terrorists now Biden is stopping it. He wants illegals to vote for Dems. He and Pelosi don’t care about America, just the power and money. D.J.T. didn’t take his hard earned pay and did more for the USA than any President ever has done. I’m 75 yrs. old and I’ve seen it all while under Democrats in Washington that do not care for Americans, just their power & money.
You are SO CORRECT/ RIGHT. The doctor and staff, including appointment setting staff also need to PRACTICE MEDICINE , Not be WEB MD or Past experience fixated!!!If you think more clearly than the doctor or any helper, licensed by your State ‘s Office of Professional Regulation!!!!