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Does "close" count in chosing your drug plan? Yes. It is far more important to get started with a plan than it is to delay and dither trying to figure out the very cheapest approach. Why is that, when money is tight? Several important reasons.

First, between now and December 31, you can change your choice every day. Even after December 31, you get one more free change up until May 15. So choosing a plan now that looks right is not a final decision, so close is good enough.

Second, the plans themselves are changing, as the carriers are adjusting their plans, and can make changes once a week. When you look at your list of plans and see that some are 2 and 3 times as expensive as the least, you might wonder who on earth would pick the more expensive. Well, so do the carriers. Whenever the internet allows this kind of easy price comparison, prices either converge, or someone doesn't make any sales. So you are going to have to keep checking the web site up until December 31, and then periodically before May 15 of next year, and be ready to change plans.

Third, as I mentioned in Part II, below, on the Medicare web site the three costs under "What You'll Pay" may not add up to the "estimated annual cost". That is because of the "donut hole". The insurance you see only covers the first $2250 of expense, and that means the RETAIL expense, not what you see there as the monthly under "What You Will Pay", and maybe not even what you are paying now. If you have one of the discount cards that predated this new program, you hopefully have been paying something less than the full retail. You can get the retail cost used in the calculation by clicking on "show details" down where the detail cost page shows what you pay in the donut hole. There is a surprising difference between plans. So you see what I mean by "close" being good enough. That's all you are going to get.

Be sure you click on "View Cost Details" before choosing. There you will see the mail order pharmacy annual cost, which can be a huge difference. For my set, the second plan had the annual cost at $1439 in the list, but the mail order annual cost was only $1000. I like getting mail anyway. Another point- mail order may save you more than you think because the lower retail cost defers the donut hole.

Fourth, some insurers are using agents and other marketing devices to push their plans. If an agent knocks on your door, or sponsors a seminar you attend, what do you think the odds are that the plan you are shown is the cheapest or the best for you? Put yourself in the shoes of the insurance company. If your plan is at the top of the list on the Medicare site, you are getting almost all the sign ups, so why pay agents? Of course, if you are down there charging twice as much, it might be a pretty good idea. You aren't going to see any business otherwise. So sign up now for what looks the best on the web site, and every time someone tries to sell you a different one, haul out yours and ask them if theirs is cheaper. If they say yes, count your fingers.

Incidentally, I did call the Medicare 800 number to ask about the totals that don't add up. There was a bit of a language barrier, but the first answer I think was "that annual total is only an estimate". What? To my suggestion that it was a pretty poor estimate, being out over 40%, she said "yes". Has anyone else mentioned this to you? She said "yes, many times". So here we have a fifth reason for going for "close". This lady had been told of the discrepancy "many times" but had never tried to find the answer. You will do better calling one or more of the insurance carriers with questions. Note that the plan name is a link, and clicking on it will get you to the 800 number of the carrier.

Speaking of trust, you may have noticed a new pix for this entry. I threw in the dog and the gray hair to appear more reliable.