Do your clients use Medicare Advantage over-the-counter drug cards? How does that work?
Answered by 8 licensed agents
The Over The Counter (OTC) benefits are pretty nice and most of the people I work with will use them. All of the different plans vary some on how to use them. Some plans will give you a card to use at different locations and some you can log in or phone in your order of OTC items and they are mailed to you at no additional cost. All of the plans also vary on how much they will give you in extra OTC benefits. This past year, most of the plans cut the OTC benefits down 30-50% from last year. I feel this is a direct result in how much the government will subsidize these plans and my thought process is that the next couple years, I could easily see the government continue to cut the amount of money given back to these plans. Again, just my thoughts.
Many Medicare Advantage (Part C) plans include a separate drug card benefit that provides extra savings or allowances for over-the-counter (OTC) medications or prescription drugs. These cards help lower out-of-pocket costs for items not fully covered by traditional Medicare. Over the counter items include: cold medicine, vitamins, first aid items, and other non-prescription items.
Yes they do, they get vitamins, supplements, pain relievers such as Tylenol and much more, toothpaste, toothbrush, healthy food items, i continence supplies, etc.
Medicare Advantage plans that offer over-the-counter (OTC) allowances will load the benefits either onto a prepaid debit card or on a membership card to be used per the plan guidelines for the year. This offers members a convenient way to shop online or at specific retailers for these OTC products.
I advice all my clients to use every penny of the over the counter! It depends on the plan you have, you can have a health card that looks like an atm, you can have a separate benefits card ir you may have to order from a catalog. Feel free to contact me for mor information.
My clients use their OTC cards at local pharmacies, Walmart, Kroger, etc. to purchase vitamins, toothbrushes, rubbing alcohol, bandaids, etc. What they can purchase depends on their company & what their plan includes. They can sometimes use it to purchase groceries or even on their utilities as well. In addition to their healthcare card, they receive a “flex card”, “u card”, or “spending card” with a preloaded quarterly or monthly amount. Most of the time it looks like a credit card, has a number, expiration date, & CVC code. They can usually use it in store or for purchases online.
