I hate medication math...

I had the most pleasant surprise at the pharmacy today.  When I fetched my prescriptions, the erythromycin co-pay was $90, that for non-preferred brand drug!  I was stunned.  I shouted.  I danced a jig.  I cried.  Folk laughed at me and I didn't care.

I came home and started working on my medical expense spreadsheet for 2015, which is a real pain to set up even though I start with a copy of the one from the previous year.  Whilst I was doing so, I told myself the reward would be to go my electronic checkbook register and change the amount to my credit card for the months I am under normal coverage.  I had visions of finally conquering the impossible task of living on disability when I spend so much on medications.  But when I started entering the retail amounts for the medications in my spreadsheet to gauge the pace of my march to the donut hole, I realized that—if my math thoughts are correct—I will actually be entering the donut hole when I pick up my prescriptions next month!!  Two months earlier than I anticipated.

How is it that the lower cost means that I will actually be spending more???????
SIGH

Of course, that means I still should reach catastrophic coverage earlier than November.  However, I still cannot figure out if that means I will do so in June or August or October.  Even with the remnants of a Ph.D. rattling around my brain I cannot understand the monthly prescription summaries (EOBs) I get from Medicare at all.  By the retail numbers, I would reach the donut hole in February for one of my prescriptions and be out of it in June.  If I were in catastrophic coverage for half the year, those deep savings could help with the first half of the year.  But the retail numbers and what I pay never seem to sync up on those EOB summaries.  It is like I am reading Greek and Hebrew and French and Spanish and maybe one or two more languages all on the same page.  I only know how to read English, by the way.  Basically, it seems to me that even though I am spending lots of money, what I am spending doesn't all get counted fully.

So, the bottom line is that I have six different spreadsheets trying to figure out the matter and it appears to me that while, theoretically, I should be in the prescription promised land in June, I will actually not be there until October.  That is just one month earlier.  However,  I will be in the donut hole four months earlier than last year.  To me, that means 1+1 = -3.  That just kind of stinks.  But I guess I should have just plain thought about common sense that says if one is going to be taking more expensive medication for 12 months of the year instead of 4, one should expect to be spending more money overall.

I could more easily swallow the spending of more money if I could have a timeline for how it needs to be spent.  It's like what I am trying to do with the real estate taxes.  By building up a cushion in that savings account, when they go up, I will have time to adjust.  But I have no medication cushion because I spent thousands and thousands and thousands of dollars when I had to pay cash for everything and still thousands more on insurance.  I am DETERMINED to not pull anything more out of retirement except for hospitalizations.  I did not buy new glasses in December, so I do have the catastrophic savings from November and December, but that will be wiped out the first month in the donut hole.  And I actually do need new glasses.

Some magical, unexpected micro-windfall needs to come my way to seed a prescription spending cushion.  I don't play the lottery.  And I don't have any rich old uncles to kick the bucket.  So a magical, unexpected micro-windfall is unlikely.

I ask Amos for help, but he reminded me that he'll need to borrow money in May for his license, check-up, and vaccines.  Then he asked me for an allowance.  I asked him why he needed one.  Amos replied that I am too miserly with dog treats so he wanted to buy his own stash.  I retorted that if he wanted more treats, I could stop his pre-cleaning privileges of the dishes.  Amos is a smart puppy dog.  He did the math on that exchange and promptly withdrew his request.

Puppy dogs are not much help with budgeting.

I am trying to cheer myself up with the fact that this time next year I will have been through the 12-month cycle and will have a better appreciation of the whole donut hole experience when you have an expensive medication.  I also pointed out to my weary self that if I were on chemo, for example, I would hit that donut hole before the first drip went into my veins.  Another reason I'll add to my list of reasons to never agree to chemotherapy.

Do you think that tonight is a good night to see what midnight pulled pork tacos might be like??????