NRLN INTERNET LINKS FOR RETIREES

Drugs & Pharmaceuticals

Online Pharmacy Search is an independent community, helping the customers to find a right place to buy medicines online. It is not an online pharmacy and hence neither sells medicines online nor processes customer orders.

Drugs.Com is an independent medicine information website for drug and related health information.

Good Rx can help you save at many U.S. pharmacies.

Blink Health has the mission to make prescription medications available at lower prices to Americans.

Mesothelioma

Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance is dedicated to serving mesothelioma victims and their families.

Mesothelioma + Asbestos Awareness Center is an online support and advocacy center that offers educational support to mesothelioma patients, family members, and caregivers.

Federal Government Links

SocialSecurity.Gov is the official website of the Social Security Administration.

Medicare.Gov is the official website for Medicare participants.

USA.gov is the official U.S. gateway to all government information and services.

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS) is the federal agency that administers Medicare, Medicaid and the Childrens Health Insurance Program.

HealthCare.Gov provides information about health care insurance plans.

White House is the official website of The White House and The President of the United States.

U.S. Senate includes a directory of Senators and legislative activities in the Senate.

U.S. House of Representatives includes a directory of Representatives and legislative activities in the House.

Congress.gov provides legislative information from the Library of Congress.

Congressional Budget Office (CBO) assists Congress by preparing objective and impartial reports and analysis.

U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) is devoted to the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers, and retirees by assuring work-related benefits and rights

Employee Benefits Security Administration(EBSA) is the branch of the U.S. Labor Department committed to educating and assisting Americans covered by private retirement plans and health plans.

Pension Benefits Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) is the U.S. Government Agency with the responsibility of protecting the retirement incomes of Americans in private-sector defined benefit pension plans.

U.S. Department of the Treasury is responsible for formulating and recommending economic, financial, tax and fiscal policies for the U.S. Government.

Internal Revenue Service (IRS) provides America's taxpayers with help to understand and meet their tax responsibilities and enforce the tax laws.

Government Accounting Office (GAO) is an independent, nonpartisan agency that works for Congress to investigate how the federal government spends taxpayer dollars.

U.S. National Debt Clock shows the national debt and debt by state.

Assistance For Veterans

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs – Health Benefits

Guide to Finding a PTSD Therapist

National Coalition for Homeless Veterans

Financial Benefits of a Military Career

Support for Veterans and Their Struggles

Legal Advice for Veterans

A Guide to Cremation and Burial for Veterans

VA Loans – Benefits, Eligibility and Requirements

Veterans Car Donations

Navy Credit Union Retirement Center provides information on saving for retirement and managing savings during retirement.

Veterans Administration can provide U.S. military veterans with services and benefits that can result in significant savings.

Veterans Health and Identification Card

Access VA Health Benefits

VA Dental Insurance Programs

VA Medical Benefits Package

Prescription Drugs

Military and Veterans Discount Guide

Geriatrics and Extended Care

Home Health Care

VA Transportation Program

General Benefits Information

Live Cycle of a VA Appeal

Burial and Memorial Benefits

Retirement Planning for Veterans provides guide to help Veterans with retirement planning.

American Addiction Centers helping combat veterans cope with the psychological and emotional trauma of their battlefield experiences and the toll it takes on their mental health.

Veterans Benefits for Seniors

Aging Veteran’s Guide to Planning for the Future

WristbandSupplies.com helps small, non-profit Veteran organizations spread their cause with free custom wristbands.

Veterans and Mesothelioma

Veteran Asbestos Exposure During Service

QuitDay.org helps veterans live longer and healthier.

Wounded Warrior Project provide programs and services to meet the needs of injured military service members.

Housing, Mortgage, Loan Information Links:

Mortgage Calculators

Housing & Mortgage Information for Seniors

Mortgage Calculators, Loan Rate, Brokers-Lenders & Financial Glossary

SeniorHomes.Com helps seniors and their families find housing and care for themselves.

Senior Discount Links:

Stores & Brands Offering Senior Discounts

Ambit Energy competitive rates.

Senior Discounts [Ultimate List]

Stores & Brands Offering Senior Discounts

Travel discounts on airfares, hotels, car rentals and vacation packages.

Restaurants / Retail and Apparel Discounts

Coupon Lawn presents a list of service providers and retailers that offer discounts exclusively to seniors.

Grocery / Travel / Entertainment Discounts

Get travel tips, trends and deals

Senior Discounts.com is an online directory of U.S. businesses that offer discounts to people 50 years of age and older. It currently list over 250,000 business locations, which include the contact information, discount information and other information necessary to receive each discount.
Brand’s Deals.com is a one-stop source for the latest coupons & deals from thousands of leading retailers.
Gift Card Granny.com is an onslaught of discounts for everything from groceries and clothing to travel and restaurants.

Discount Ideas From Members:

Discounts on Other Products and Services

Kiplinger Retirement Freebies.

I have a membership to Citizen's Oil Co-Op which has its base in West Hartford, CT and also provides services in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. I pay $20 a year (senior rate) for membership. I get discounts on oil and on my electric/generation service charge. I saved over $540 this year on oil alone. And I can save on the membership with 2 referrals to the organization. They also discount propane. Website is: http://oilco-op.com/. Toll free phone is: 1-860-561-6011.

Discount prices on reading glasses are available at Dollar Store , Dollar General, Family Dollar, Dollar Tree , and Dollar General to name a few.

National Association of Area Agencies on Aging is an umbrella organization advocating to ensure that needed resources and support services are available to older Americans.

Prescription Drugs ideas provided by NRLN members.

Here are two ways you can verify that your purchase of prescription drugs are from legitimate pharmacies:
1. Check the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy’s website to see whether your pharmacy is a verified Internet practice pharmacy site.
2. Visit LegitsScript and type in the website of the online pharmacy to see whether it’s approved.

My Tier 4 prescription drugs are reduced by approximately 60% by using Canada Drugs. The website is: https://www.canadadrugs.com/; the toll free phone is: 1-800-226-3784; the email address is info@canadadrugs.com. The medicine is identical to that I receive in the U.S. Their service is excellent and it is ease talk with them. I use the Canadian pharmacy for long-term prescriptions and not for short-term prescriptions that one would take for the flu. The only negative is it takes longer to receive the prescription because it is mailed. However, with proper planning this is not a problem.

Health Link offers a prescription drug savings card.

Costco and Sam’s Club offer many prescription drugs at discounts without having to be a member. Simply enter the store and say you are going to the pharmacy. Or, you may order online without being a member. Costco toll free phone is: 1-800-607-6861; Costco Drug pricing webpage.
Sam’s Club toll free phone is: 1-888-746-7726

Discounts on many prescription drugs are offered by www.goodrx.com . You print the coupons for the pharmacy of your choice.

Pharmacy Saver is a cost-savings prescription drug program available to Medicare Advantage plan members with Prescription Drug coverage. You may be able to pay less than your plan co-pay for your prescription drugs with the Pharmacy Saver program. To look up your prescription drugs and find a Pharmacy Saver location near you click here. .

In Nov 2013 I paid a $200 copay for a 30 gram tube of Carac .5% Fluorouracil (manufactured by Valeant) and last month my dermatologist wrote a prescription for me to buy more from COSTCO. The news is: Manufacture’s price to COSTCO (according to their pharmacist) for a 30 gram tube:
$2,900
My copay – I did not ask
The COSTCO pharmacist offered a generic 30 gram tube of Fluorouracil .5%:
Price to COSTCO
$1,300
My copay - $840
What a deal!
I called my dermatologist who referred me to Philidor Pharmacies (toll free phone: 1-855-744-5791) with pharmacies based in Hatboro, PA and Los Angeles, CA and Service Centers in Hatboro and Phoenix, AZ. Philador specializes in dermatological products that most Medicare D plans or other plans will not cover. Philador told me that they negotiate pricing with Valeant (and maybe others soon) who want to avoid distribution channel markups, including retail pricing for high cost drugs. Without the benefit if Medicare D or any other insurance, I paid $75 for the Carac brand, 30 grams, .5% and no charge 3-5 day delivery.

Type Prescription Drug Savings in Google Search or Bing Search.

Dealhack Senior Discounts List

Use the Medicare site every November and plug in all the drugs to get annual cost which can vary significantly between companies. Don't forget to check the mail order price which is usually much less. I have one plan for myself and another for my wife. My plan would cost more for the drugs she takes and visa versa. Don't just go with the plan you had last year. I think drug companies rely on automatic repeat business because it is a pain to understand the plan differences. I have changed several times over the years because the drug companies play games with pricing and placing drugs in tiers. There are no government guidelines for what drug goes in what tier. The same drug can be in different tiers based on dosage. I have to think the more popular doses would be in a higher tier.

My wife was prescribed capsules for one of her meds. Capsules can be much more costly than tablets. Check with your doctor because frequently they aren't aware of these subtle facts.

Extended Relief (ER) meds can cost more than taking the same drug several times a day. One of my meds was ER had a copay of $90. So I take a reduced dose which is non ER three times a day for $10 copay.

If a drug is newly prescribed during the year and not on the formulary ask for an exception. I did that and they obliged. Don't be afraid to lean on them. They want your business. You can also ask for a tier reduction if the copay is high.

Don't look at whether or not a company has a deductible. Look at the annual cost unless cash flow early in the year is a problem. One plan can have a deductible and larger monthly premium than other plans and still be the best on an annual basis.

I spend about 20 hours a year working the ever changing Medicare D site. It is tedious but I like to know as much as I can. I have helped non computer literate friends of mine save a lot of money by getting them in the best plan for the meds they take.

Massachusetts has a group of trained people called SHINE. They are required to train for 40 hours and are at senior center every year to assist in choosing a Medicare Part D plan.

One thing I will recommend to all seniors on Medicare Part D, that enroll with a provider who has their primary medications in Tier 1. I discovered that different Medicare Part D providers put the same medication in different Tiers. A medication in Tier 1 is much cheaper than same medication in Tier 2. Also some providers reduce the cost to zero if 3 month’s supply is ordered with their mail order pharmacy. For example, I get Tamsulosin (generic for Flowmax) completely at zero cost form the Humana Medicare Part D plan.