Shifting into retirement mode means having to learn different resources for maintaining health, fitness, and personal finance, and other needs. Each provider has online resources that may include such things as directories of specialists, drugs covered, medical procedures covered, diet and exercise tips, and more. All of our retirement benefits are arranged through the State of Texas Employee Retirement System (ERS).
Each of our major coverage areas (general medical, prescription drugs, vision, and dental) provides us with ink-on-paper handbooks or catalogs, but here’s some annotated links to the online presences of some of these support resources:
- United Health Care administers our Medicare Advantage Plan (Medicare Part C). This is done through the Texas Employee Retirement System (ERS), and the name of the plan is “Health Select.” The UHC Health Select website affords a personal dashboard after you login that contains some tracking of your recent medical history, a database of specialists that includes patient ratings, and other useful information. When you first log in, you are asked to decide whether you want to go to the drug side of things (Medicare D) or the doctor side of things (Medicare B and C). Among services available are messaging options, access to FREE over-the-counter products, a professional care decision tree, and the ability to talk to a doctor online, any time.
- Silver Sneakers membership is provided with our Medicare Advantage Plan. This affords us free membership in any gym that is affiliated with Silver Sneakers. The website lists gyms in your area that are part of the plan, has articles about fitness and diet as well as specific exercise plans. They also sport online classes, including Zumba and Line Dancing classes that are live streamed.
- Vision benefits are provided by Superior Vision under the brand of “State of Texas Vision.” When you are logged in to the website you can find in-network providers, view benefits and eligibility, print an ID card, print forms, and access plan documents. Note: If we need to submit a claim, we can do it through the website once you are logged in. We have a single, shared ID card.
- Delta Dental is our provider for routine dental hygiene. The Delta Dental website contains a searchable database of in-network dentists and details on those things covered within the plan. NOTE that implants and certain kinds of oral surgery not covered under the plan may be covered under the UHC advantage plan. We have a single, shared ID card.
- Planet Fitness, our Silver Sneaker gym, has a number of informational articles and promotions in its website.
- AARP is an activist organization dedicated to the interests of senior citizens. Their website contains articles monitoring legislation, health and fitness research, medicine, diet and other matters of interest for senior citizens. Members have access to premium content in the website and to discounts at a number of venues throughout the country. To get premium access you login using your AARP credentials.
- CostPlus Drug Company is Mark Cuban’s consumer-direct prescription company for generics. Should be instructive to compare the prices we are paying to those in Cuban’s site.
Price comparison on drugs
| Drug Name | UMC Price | Cuban Price |
|---|---|---|
| Dutasteride 0.5mg 90 ct | $30.00 | NA |
| Carvedilol 3.125mg 180ct | $11.64 | $11.40 |
| Tamsulosin 0.4mg 180ct | $30.00 | $15.00 |
| Metoprolol ER | ||
| Olmesartan/HCTZ 40/25 90ct | $30.00 | $31.80 |
| Ramipril 1.25 Mg 90 ct | $26.44 | $11.10 |
| Erythromycin ointmt 5mg/g, 3.5g | $10.00 | $13.64 |
| Pravastatin 20mg 90ct | $15.32 | $8.40 |
| Finasteride | ||
It gives me great pleasure to introduce you to Connor Reddick. His middle name is currently a topic of much discussion (and some controversy) but we will come to a decision in the near future.