General Discussion

That is probably a combination of premiums, Part D deductibles and copays. If some of her meds changed tier, her cost could go from zero dollars to maybe 50% of the cost (which for specialty drugs could be thousands). Her deductibles could have gone up from possibly zero to some astronomical number. Its also possible that instead of having zero copay for doctor visits, that has gone up, as well as referrals to specialists.

My wife and I are both in our late 70's, and I have just gone through this. In my wife's very specific case, Part D deductible went from zero, to $615. That's along with the monthly premium going up $25 a month. She only has 4 prescriptions, and all of those are generics, so it will take us about 6 months to cover the deductible. Along with that, my wife's supplemental insurance rates went up $50 a month, and for the last 4 years, the only claims have been for quarterly doctor visits; no specialists, no hospitals, no expensive testing.

My wife and I are lucky, we're both pretty healthy, but we both feel the need to be insured because we don't know when one of us will need it. Most recently, we've spent more money on keeping our dogs healthy, than we have on ourselves.