Re Humana Gold supplement to Medicare

[Guest guest]

Just a update to some of you who possibly are thinking about using

Humana Gold ($79.00 per month) as your Medicare supplement. I had a

small bomb dropped on me yesterday, as I went to fill my Creon 20 &

Oxycotin 40 mg. prescriptions! 2 different reps. from the company

told me u pay 20% on Brand drugs, (of course one is in Florida & I'm

finding it varies from state to state).....it is even on one page of

the book, as 20% and then on another page $10.00 they pay!!! I may

go back on my husbands plan, but since we are self-employed & the

sports bar is up for sale, plus it saved us $3000. per year getting

me off, I am trying to combine the Oxycodone 10mg. and the 5's of IR

to see if I can get anything near the same dose!!! The fentynal

patch is or has a generic brand, but since we have a mini vacation I

will wait to try that since I have soooooo many side effects from

various drugs. Thank God, and everyone else that I have enough till

I come back from the vacation & until I see the doc again in early

July. So just wanted to share this with you, especially if u are in

the state of South Carolina. My lawyer Father would have been very

disappointed in me that I did not read more thoroughly, but hey they

told me twice over the phone, I specifically asked re the OXYCOTIN.

And I know this drug is messing with my mind & spelling anyway, so

maybe it's all for the best? Keep u posted......Health & wealth to

all of you & a pain-free future! love Glentzes in

ton, S.C.

[Guest guest]

,

I wasn't quite clear about what you were trying to say. Were you saying that

they told you on the phone that you would have to pay 20% on brand name

drugs? And that when you went to pay for the Oxycontin all they would pay

was $10? Is that what you were trying to say?

Humana has been advertising extensively on our Savannah CBS channel

about the great plan they have to help with the Medicare Part B supplement.

Part of the advertising said that their monthly premiums were only $29.00, and

that the member's co-pay for brand name prescriptions was only $20.00 I've

called the number on the television advertisement three different times during

the last two months, asking for information on their program. After taking my

name and address, they told me they would send a brochure out to me

immediately. I've never received anything at all.

Maybe now I shouldn't worry about not hearing from them?

You can't combine oxycodone 10's and oxy IR 5's to substitute for Oxycontin,

. No way!! Oxycontin is a LONG acting formula, made to slowly

release medication into the bloodstream, to cover a period as long as 12

hours. Oxycodone and Oxy IR, (that stands for " instant release " ), are both

SHORT acting medications, with a life of only 4-6 hours. I don't think it

would

work, even if you took some of the short acting oxy every 4-6 hrs. over a 12

hour period of time, since it wouldn't react the same, giving you a slow, steady

dose. You'd have too many peaks and valleys, I believe.

And I don't know if you read my earlier post about the generic fentanyl

patches, but my doctors both have cautioned me about those, saying that they

had been informed that the generic patches have been having " a lot of

problems " , and to stay away from them. If you're going on vacation, I don't

think it would be a good time for you to try something new, especially if it

doesn't have a good track record right now.

Good luck with all of this mess. I'm interested to know more about what's

going on with the Humana thing, because I was interested in what they were

offering.......but maybe not now?

Sorry that you've been having so much trouble with this.

With love, hope and prayers,

Heidi

Heidi H. Griffeth

www.pancassociation.org/anthology#Heidi.html

Bluffton, SC

SC State & SE Regional Representative

Pancreatitis Association, International

www.health.groups.yahoo.com/group/pancreatitis/

Note:  All comments or advice are personal opinion only, and should not be

substituted for professional medical consultation.