The Medicare drug plan’s bitter pills

Re “Choices Shrink in Drug Plan, Study Says,” March 21

I meticulously went over the plans for my mother at www.medicare.gov (something she could not do by herself) and chose a reasonable plan given her medications. She takes one patent-protected acid reflux medication and three generics for other conditions.

What I did not find out until two months later was that the most expensive drug she takes (the acid reflux medicine) was only covered for a maximum of 90 days, not the daily dose she takes. There was no mention of this on the Medicare website, and clearly the annual total cost of the medications was wrong because it simply dropped completely the doses (nine months’ worth!) that the plan would not cover.

VICTOR ZLOTNICKI

Altadena

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Is there any wonder why the new drug plan is so confusing? My wife and I signed up for Medicare Part D with the same provider. I found that I can purchase my drugs for less at Costco than I can using the new drug insurance plan, so I am losing money.

My wife has found a slight savings for her prescriptions, so she is saving a small amount of money.

MARTIN A. BROWER

Corona del Mar