George sheds light on the importance of predictable costs in Medicare Part D

George Valentine needs something from his elected representatives in Congress: securing predictable annual out-of-pocket costs under Medicare Part D’s prescription drug plan.

From Texas to Singapore to a life-altering diagnosis

George is a retiree who lives in Irving, Texas with his wife, Cheryl. For more than 40 years, George worked in IT, making his way from computer programming to managing data centers to serving as a solutions architect for an account worth $100 million.

During that time, George traveled extensively to conduct business—he easily rattles off a few of his destinations from “Germany to Paris, to London, Scotland, to Canada, to Stockholm…” before realizing he neglected to mention much of Asia, Australia, all of the United States, and too many others to list. (His favorite, so far, is London—a place he and his wife hope to return to as tourists.)

But when George connected with the PAN Foundation, it wasn’t to reminisce on the joys of travel, but to discuss how he manages living with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

The true costs of living with a chronic health condition

When he was first diagnosed with CLL in 2002 following a routine exam, George was given five to seven years to live. “Prior to that, I was the healthy, athletic type out running five miles every day, having fun,” George said.

Because George was working upon his diagnosis, he chose a health insurance plan through his employer with the most extensive coverage, opting to pay the steep premiums. At least that way, George reasoned, he could reach the out-of-pocket limit and receive coverage for the treatment that inevitably followed.

“It gave me that piece of mind…the emotional piece of mind, to focus on my job and family and things like that,” George said.

“Since I’ve retired and gone onto Medicare, that’s different,” George explained. “There’s no out-of-pocket limit for drugs on Medicare and it has definitely caused me some agony.”

Prescription drugs on Medicare are completely different than on private insurance, according to George. “It’s something I deal with day to day, week to week, month to month, because it lacks predictability. This year already, I’m over $100,000 in drug costs…that’s the level of costs that I see.”