Important Part D Prescription Plan News

In early October you should have received your Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) from either your Part D prescription (PDP) plan provider or your Medicare advantage plan company. If you didn’t receive your ANOC, be sure to contact your plan and ask for one. They should also be available online.

Yes, we understand that you are overloaded with information, and who wants to read more boring info. A year ago, Humana announced in their ANOC that they were discontinuing their existing PDPs and coming out with new plans for 2020.

They also announced that the people on the 2019 Humana Walmart plan—if they did nothing—would be placed on the new ~$52 Humana Premier PDP for 2020. Fortunately, many of you contacted us and we were able to find a more cost-effective plan for you for 2020.

We also alerted people about this situation in two issues of our e-letter, Northwest Senior News. Unfortunately, some folks missed the notices and were stuck on the more expensive plan for 2020. If you currently have the Humana Premier plan, be sure to contact us this fall if you have not already done so.

History Repeats

We have a similar situation this fall. Mutual of Omaha (MoO) has offered two PDPs the past couple of years. We have signed up many of you for the MoO Value plan. Unfortunately, MoO is discontinuing that plan going into 2021. If you do nothing, you will automatically be placed on the Mutual of Omaha Plus PDP with a premium of around $70 per month.

If you have the Mutual of Omaha Value PDP, be sure to contact us. We also will also be contacting you as time permits during the fall Annual Election Period (AEP). Be sure to review your ANOC.

PDP Basics

It’s important to understand how most of the lower premium PDPs under $50 per month are structured.

Typically, tiers 1 and 2 (generics), are not subject to the $445 (in 2021) deductible. Tiers 3, 4, and 5 are subject to the annual $445 deductible. Usually, tiers 3, 4 and 5 are name brand drugs. However, there are many generics sprinkled throughout these three tiers.

A plan sponsor, at its discretion, can opt for a lower deductible. For example, a plan could set the deductible at $300 instead of the maximum $445.

More expensive plans in the $70 and up monthly premium range usually do not have a deductible. That’s one reason why their premiums are substantially higher. They also have more drugs on their formulary, particularly expensive brands. Because so many popular prescriptions have gone generic, very few people need these higher-octane plans.

To sum this up, most of us have a PDP where the deductible is waived for generic tiers 1 and 2. Knowing the above is very helpful in understanding what’s next.

The new kid on the block

There is a major company that has come out with a new, low priced PDP for 2021. The premium will range from about $6.10 to $7.50 per month depending on your state. That’s right, the premium is less than $10!

Okay, what the catch? There are two of them. First, you really want to use a preferred pharmacy from their list, as your copays will be substantially higher at a standard pharmacy. Note: Walmart is a standard pharmacy with this plan.

Second, only tier 1 generics are excluded from the $445 deductible. That means any tier 2 generics are subject to the deductible as well as tiers 3, 4, and 5. However, this plan seems to have a wide range of tier 1 generics, and they are available for a low or even no copays.

Who are good candidates for this plan?

1) Those who take no prescriptions. The name of the game is usually to have the lowest premium.

2) Those whose prescriptions are all tier 1 generics on this plan and are willing to use one of their preferred pharmacies.

Please use PDPhelper.com to submit to us a list of your current prescriptions, and we will shop it for you for the upcoming 2021 season. We’ll let you know your most cost-effective choice of the available plans.

The biggest mistake that some people make.

When discussing the upcoming new PDPs with some people, we hear, “But my plan [meaning the existing one] is this or does that…” Yes, we understand that this thought process is based on what you know and understand. The problem is that it’s like driving forward, with your eyes glued to the rearview mirror.

The reason that this is a problem is because the prescription drug plans change every year. Companies discontinue older plans and create new ones. Drugs can be added or deleted from the plan’s formulary. Pharmaceutical companies bring new drugs to the market, and they are usually expensive. Just one of them can throw you into the coverage gap.

Additionally, the status of any given pharmacy can change with the plan. We have noticed that this is especially true with the smaller, independent pharmacies.

Drive with your eyes looking forward!

The Coverage Gap

And speaking of the coverage gap, also known as the doughnut hole, your cost sharing while in the gap is 25% of the cost for generics and name brands. Some plans may have lower cost sharing for tier 1 and 2 generics while in the gap.

Once the retail cost of your prescriptions hits $4,130 in 2021, you will be in the gap. Once your TrooP (true out-of-pocket) hits $6,550, you go into the catastrophic stage with drastically lowered copays. Please keep in mind that you will not actually be paying out $6,550, because the manufacturer’s 50% discount counts toward your TrooP costs.

Conclusion

As stated above, we strongly encourage you to use our PDPHelper.com website as a way of submitting of list of your current prescriptions to us. We thank you for your patronage and wish you the best for the upcoming 2021 season. End.

Prescription Drug Plans—Big Changes for 2020

It seems like not a year goes by without some major shakeup regarding either Medicare advantage or Medicare Part D Prescription (PDP) plans. This year we have changes on steroids.

The first headache agents and other senior volunteers will be facing this fall is that the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is changing its Prescription Drug finder (PDF) on Medicare.gov. For years we have had the ability to create a “Drug List ID.” This gave us a unique ten-digit ID number and the date of our search and the option to save our list. It has been an invaluable tool for us.

Let’s say Betty Rubble takes ten meds. Also, let’s say that last fall during the Annual Election Period (AEP from Oct. 15 through Dec. 7) I pulled up her previous list. Betty told me that she dropped one of her meds and added a new one. I would not have to reenter all of her ten meds. I’d simply recall the saved list by populating the fields for the drug list ID and the date of our original search.

Voila, the list of her ten meds pulls up. we delete the one med she has discontinued and add her new one. We enter her preferred pharmacy and hit “Continue to Plan Results.” The website sorts the PDPs in order of the best buys. By best buy we mean the estimated annual cost.

This estimated annual cost includes and is the sum of the following:

  • The monthly premium times 12.
  • The deductible if there is one.
  • The copay for her meds before and after the deductible.
  • Her costs when she is in the coverage gap (if applicable).
  • Her catastrophic costs once she has moved out of the coverage gap (if applicable).

There have been a few minor traps that a new user could fall into when using the PDF, but a knowledgeable person knew what they were. In short order we advised our clients which PDP that would be their best buy for the upcoming year. One exception for not chasing the lowest cost plan was a PDP with a sub-standard rating. Another exception has been a company known for poor customer service. Other than that, we’d recommend the plan that was the best buy.

Some plans compensate the agents and others don’t. We’d have recommended to you to the most cost-effective PDP irrespective of whether or not the plan compensates agents. Also, there is no incentive for an agent to “churn” people from one plan to another. CMS does not allow any additional compensation for doing this.

We’re happy to provide this service for our clients and we will continue to do so. However, we’re entering uncharted territory this year because of the changes that CMS has made to the prescription drug finder (PDF) on Medicare.gov.

First, our saved drug list will not carry over to the new PDF. That means the hundreds of saved lists are going POOF! Gone!

Medicare wants you to set up a My Medicare account. You enter your date of birth, your Medicare number and create a username and password. So far, the PDF does not give a simple list of the best to the worst buys. It uses a different format for comparing plans. Our experience is that it sorts by premium or copays. Thus, the user has to enter different sort criteria.

The new PDF may be easier for you the consumer to navigate, but it appears to be far less friendly to agents and senior volunteers that do multiple searches per day. You can spend an evening to get set up for yourself, but we’re simply not going to have the time to help everyone set up his/her My Medicare.

Complaints about the new revised PDF have been flooding into CMS, so we don’t know exactly how their new revised PDF is going to play out. There may be more revisions by October 1st.

What’s really irritating about this is CMS’s timing. They wait until the busiest time of the year to foist their new change onto the public. If they would have chosen April, for example, we’d have six months to learn and understand their new website prior to the October AEP. They would have had six months to work out the bugs.

There is some good news here. There is a private prescription drug plan finder that will be available for agents but not for the public. We’ll still have to input your meds, but at least we’ll have a program that will assist us in making the most suitable recommendation for you. We’ll know more as we use this new PDF.

Big Prescription Plan Changes

CMS puts a gag on revealing specific plan information prior to October 1st. By this we mean premiums and specific benefits. However, we can provide you some generalities prior to October 1st.

Humana PDPs

For several years Humana has sponsored three PDPs. They have been as follows:

  • Humana Enhanced PDP
  • Humana Preferred PDP
  • Humana Walmart PDP

Humana is scrapping those three plans and creating three NEW plans. They are as follows:

  • Humana Premier PDP
  • Humana Basic PDP
  • Walmart Value PDP

The Premier plan will have the highest premium. The Humana Basic plan is intended for those on Extra Help from Medicare. (Extra Help is a federal program that subsidizes some or all of a beneficiary’s PDP premium and provides for lower cost copays. Qualification is based in income and assets or resources.)

The new Walmart Value plan will be the budget plan and will compete in the arena of lowest premium plans.

If you do nothing, here is what will happen in 2020. The people in the current Enhanced plan will be moved to the Premier Plan. Those with the Humana Preferred plan will be moved to the new Humana Basic plan. So far, so good.

Attention for those that have the current Humana Walmart plan.

The Humana Walmart members: If you do nothing, will be moved to the Humana Premier plan. You will NOT be automatically be moved to the new Walmart Value plan. Humana will be announcing this in your Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) letter that you’ll be receiving (if not already) from Humana. You may even receive a phone call from a Humana representative regarding this situation.

We will be contacting you as fast as possible to guide you into the most cost-effective plan for 2020. Please be patient, as we cannot service hundreds of people the first day, but we will get to you during the AEP. Also, please feel free to contact us, and we’ll put you on our list.

Aetna and WellCare

CVS bought Aetna, and the merger is complete. One of the obstacles prior to this merger was the concern by the regulators that CVS would have too strong of an influence regarding PDPs. CVS sponsors the Silver Script PDPs. So, to keep the regulators satisfied, Aetna sold off its PDP unit to WellCare. A few of you have already contacted us about the somewhat vague letter from WellCare explaining this situation.

Be sure to read the ANOC that you’ll be receiving from WellCare. Please contact us with any questions.

PDPHelper.com

We really appreciate the large numbers of you that have previously used PDPHelper.com as a method of submitting to us a list of your meds. Please continue to do so for this coming AEP. Our website is not affected by the changes on Medicare.gov.

Lastly, thank you for your continued business. It is your patronage that keeps us operating.

Tips for using PDPHelper

This 2019 AEP is our fourth year of using PDPHelper.com. The following are some tips to help us do an accurate search on your behalf for your 2020 Prescription Drug Plan (PDP). Our goal is to recommend the PDP that will be most suitable for you. This is especially important with the WellCare takeover of the Aetna PDPs and Humana revamping their plans.

Step 1

Please enter your name, phone, email address, your zip code, and your county of residence. Some zip codes span multiple counties, and that’s why we request your county of residence. This means where your residence sits.

Next, please list your top pharmacy choices. We also ask you if you would be willing to use Walmart, Walgreens, or a mail order pharmacy if that will save you money.

Step 2

In this section, only enter your pills, capsules, or tablets. Liquids, gels, creams, insulin, eye drops, patches, etc. are in the next steps.

Enter the name of your prescription, the dose, and the quantity you buy. Important, is the quantity you buy per one month, per every two months, per every three months, or per every twelve months? If you take something as needed, estimate how many pills you buy and how often you buy it. Your estimate does need to be exact. Just get it as reasonably close as you can.

Example #1—Betty take two, 500mg metformin tablets every day. She buys 60 every month.

Name of Prescription: Metformin
Dosage: Enter 500mg
Quantity: Enter 60
Frequency: Enter month

Example #2—John take hydrocodone/apap, 325/10mg, as needed for back pain. Some days he takes none but other days he takes two or three. He estimates he takes around 45 per month

Name of Prescription: Hydrocodone/apap
Dosage: Enter 325/10mg
Quantity: Enter 45
Frequency: Enter month

Step 3

The section is for Insulin, Inhalers and Nebulizers

Example #3—Alice uses insulin. She checks “yes”. She enters her information as follows:

Name of insulin: Lantus Solostar pens
Size: 3 mL
Quantity: 5 pack or just 5
Frequency: per 2 months

Example #4—Shirley uses Advair. She checks “yes” for the category: “Do you use any inhalers or nebulizers?” She enters her information as follows:

Name of inhaler: Advair
Size: 250/50
Quantity: 1
Frequency: 1 month

Step 4

This final step is for Eye Drops. Gels, Creams, Lotions or Salves, and Other Prescriptions.

Example #5—Mary uses eye drops. She checks “yes” for this category and fills in her information. Please do NOT attempt to say “2 drops per eye each day.” We need to know the size of the bottle, usually 2.5 mL, 5 mL, or 10 mL and how often you fill your prescription.

Name of eye drops: Latanoprost SOL 0.005%
Size: 2.5 mL
Quantity: 1
Frequency: 1 month

When finished, please hit the submit button. Thank you in advance for using PDPhelper.com. End

The Statin Prescription Number That Makes My Blood Boil

by Dr. David Eifrig

221 million prescriptions…

That’s the latest number available for the number of prescriptions written in a single year (2012-2013) for statins.

In a little more than a decade, from 2002 to 2013, use of this cholesterol medicine increased 80%. The reason? The American Heart Association lowered the guidelines for “normal” cholesterol numbers. Overnight, millions of Americans suddenly had high cholesterol… and doctors turned to Big Pharma to “fix” the problem.

Today, one in four Americans over the age of 40 takes statins. That number makes my blood boil. Particularly when friends of mine resign themselves to taking the drug for the rest of their lives.

I’ve written before about the big myth behind cholesterol. Solely treating a set of numbers with an overprescribed drug class like statins is an irresponsible – and dangerous – practice.

That’s largely due to the fact that inflammation – not cholesterol – is the root cause of heart disease. That’s why simply treating cholesterol numbers doesn’t work. Doctors need to focus on the whole patient – including lifestyle elements like diet and exercise.

But given how many folks still write to me asking about statins, I wanted to address my views on them in today’s issue. Let’s get started…

Please click here to keep reading.

The following are my comments.
by Lance Reedy

My comments: What are these processed foods that Dr. Eifrig refers to? For several years I have used the acronym SORF to describe these unhealthy foods that Dr. Eifrig and others refer to. If you avoid processed foods with one, two, or all three components of SORF you will go a long way to avoid inflammation-causing foods. Sadly, there are hundreds of these dressed up packages sitting on grocery store shelves that unsuspecting shoppers unwittingly purchase.

S = Sugar   This includes sugar, high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), and sugar alcohols. Even though artificial sweeteners such as aspartame, Splenda, etc. aren’t sugar, they are toxic chemicals that you don’t want in your body. Don’t forget the Agave scam. Agave is high in fructose. The over-consumption of these sugars can lead to insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome.

O = Oils   This refers to oils that require a factory to produce. Included in this list are soybean oil, canola oil, safflower oil, corn oil, etc. The industrial processing causes these unstable Omega 6 oils to become rancid. This causes harmless, low-density lipoproteins to become oxidized and transformed into small, B-B-like particles. These particles, in turn, cause inflammation to the lining of your coronary arteries. Please refer to Dr. Stephen Sinatra’s The Great Cholesterol Myth.

What about the advertising the suggests that these oils are heart-healthy? At best they are bogus, and at worst they are fraudulent propaganda.

RF = Refined Flours   This list includes white flour or “enriched” white flour, white rice, or any product made by milling off the bran and germ of any grain. The refining process robs the grains of valuable B vitamins and fiber. Worse, it concentrates the starch, causing your blood sugar to spike as if you had eaten sugar. Again, this contributes to insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome.

Want to stay in optimal health and avoid as much inflammation as possible? Avoid SORF!

Disclaimer

The articles in Northwest Senior News are for your education and general health information only, and the opinions of various writers do not necessarily reflect those of Northwest Senior News. The ideas, opinions and suggestions contained in Northwest Senior News are NOT to be used as a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment from your doctor for any health condition or related issues. Readers of Northwest Senior News should not rely on information provided in these articles for their own healthcare. Any questions regarding your own healthcare should be addressed to your own physician. Please do NOT start or stop any medications or any other medical protocol without consulting your doctor or other licensed healthcare practitioners.

Are Medicare Supplement Plans C and F going Away?

Not quite.

Note: I thank Ron Iverson, president of NAMSMAP* for assembling this data. This information comes from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. *National Association of Medicare Supplement and Medicare Advantage Producers. This article is a revision from one published earlier this year.

A Brief Summary

Plans C and F will not be available for people turning 65 after January 1, 2020. People on Medicare prior to that date can still purchase Plans C and F, subject to medical qualification in most cases. If you’re not a detail person, you can to stop here. For the mavens that enjoy knowing the full details, keep reading.

Now the Details and the Long Version

1)  Why is the standard model for Medicare supplement (Medigap) plans being revised?

A new federal law was passed on April 16, 2015. The Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA) makes changes to Medigap policies that cover the Part B deductibles for “newly eligible” Medicare Beneficiaries on or after January 1, 2020.

2) What does MACRA require?

As of January 1, 2020, MACRA does the following:

2a) Prohibits first dollar Part B coverage on Medicare Supplement plans (Plans C and F) to “newly eligible” Medicare Beneficiaries, so Plans C and F cannot be sold to those “newly eligible” for Medicare. Those enrolled in Plans C and F prior to January 1, 2020 may keep their plan.

2b) Makes Plans D and G the guarantee issue plans for “newly eligible” Medicare Beneficiaries for the specified periods under current law that name C or F for current Medicare beneficiaries.

2c) Who is considered a “newly eligible” Medicare beneficiary under MACRA?

MACRA defines “newly eligible” as anyone who: (a) attains age 65 on or after January 1, 2020, or (b) who first becomes eligible for Medicare benefits due to age, disability or end-stage renal disease on or after January 1, 2020.

3) How much is the Medicare Part B deductible?

Medicare Part B deductible is $185 in 2019.

4) How does this relate to efforts to eliminate Medigap or Medicare supplement “first dollar coverage”?

This accomplishes the efforts to eliminate Medigap “first dollar coverage” (coverage of all claims without paying any out of pocket cost) by discontinuing sale of Plan C and Plan F only for “newly eligible” Medicare Beneficiaries

5) How are people eligible for Medicare on the basis of disability impacted by these changes?

Current beneficiaries are not impacted. The restrictions under MACRA apply to persons who qualify for Medicare as a result of a disability on or after January 1, 2020.

6) Why are plans “re-designated” for only “newly eligible” Medicare beneficiaries?

The Federal Government wanted to eliminate coverage for the Part B deductible making consumers responsible for that first dollar coverage. The only difference between Plans C and F and Plans D and G is the coverage of the Part B deductible under Plans C and F. All other benefits are exactly the same for D and G. Since Plans C and F will no longer be available for “newly eligible” beneficiaries, it was necessary to designate Plans C and F as Plans D and G for these individuals.

7) How are enrollees in current Plans C and F affected by these changes?

Current enrollees (those eligible for Medicare PRIOR to January 1, 2020) can continue with their Plan C or Plan F, including F High Deductible plan, and may continue to buy Plans C and F beyond January 1, 2020. Current enrollees will also be able to buy the new Plan G High Deductible plan on or after January 1, 2020.

8) What changes are made to High Deductible Plan options?

Since Plan F High Deductible cannot be sold to those “newly eligible” Medicare beneficiaries, a new Plan G High Deductible is created for those “newly eligible” Medicare beneficiaries as of January 1, 2020. The effective date of coverage for Plan G High Deductible must be on or after January 1, 2020. If you are not a “newly eligible” beneficiary and are enrolled in a Plan F High Deductible prior to January 1, 2020, you are able to continue this coverage beyond January 1, 2020 and to purchase this coverage on or after January 1, 2020.

9) When can the new High Deductible Plan G be sold and who can buy it?

Plan G High Deductible can be made available beginning on January 1, 2020; “newly eligible” Medicare beneficiaries and current beneficiaries would be able to buy the new Plan G High Deductible.

10) For high deductible plans, does payment of the Part B deductible count towards the plan deductible?

For Plan G High Deductible; while the Part B deductible is not covered (reimbursed), it does count towards the High Deductible plan’s deductible. If, in the rare circumstance the Plan G’s High Deductible is met with all Part A expenses and Part B Deductible expenses are then incurred, these expenses will not be covered expenses until the beneficiary meets the Medicare Part B deductible.

11) For the new High Deductible Plan G sold on or after January 1, 2020, what happens if a policyholder meets the high deductible amount with all Part A out of pocket expenses?

If, in the rare circumstance the Plan G’s High Deductible is met with all Part A expenses any Part B Deductible expenses incurred will not count towards meeting the High Deductible nor will they be covered expenses.

12) What changes are made to Guaranteed Issue requirements?

Since two of the current guaranteed issue plans, Plans C and F, will no longer be available for “newly eligible” Medicare Beneficiaries on or after January 1, 2020, Plans D and G will become two of the guaranteed issue plans for these individuals. Current enrollees can remain with or buy Plans C and F and individuals who do not fall within the definition of “newly eligible” Medicare beneficiary will still be able to purchase Plans C and F.

13) How does this change the way Plans C or F, and D or G, may be sold in the state?

Insurers can continue to sell Plans C or F to current Medicare beneficiaries. However, “newly eligible” Medicare beneficiaries cannot apply for or purchase Plan C or F. The “newly eligible” would be offered Plans D or G on a guaranteed issue basis instead. All other currently available plans may continue to be offered to all Medicare beneficiaries regardless of their date of eligibility for Medicare.

You are NOT considered “newly eligible” because you turned age 65 before January 1, 2020; and although you must enroll in Part B to purchase Medigap and that would occur after January 1, 2020, you could purchase C or F because you turned age 65 before January 1, 2020.  

Key Takeaways

1)  Plans C and F, and High Deductible F, will not be available to anyone who turns 65 (“newly eligible”) after January 1, 2020, including those eligible for Medicare by reason of disability.

2)  People currently with Plans C and F and High Deductible F will be able to keep them after the date.

3)  People who turn 65 and register for Medicare before the date, can still purchase Plans C and F because they are not considered “newly eligible.”

4)  And…even though a person who purchases Part B after January 1, 2020, they can still purchase Plans C or F because he/she turned 65 before the date.

5)  The current Plan C will become (be designated) the current Plan D after the date.

6)  The current Plan F will become (be designated) the Current Plan G after the date.

7)  All High Deductible Plan Fs will be available as they currently are after the date, and will become (be designated) High Deductible Plan G.  Available purchase will include people who turn 65 before the date, but again, not those “newly eligible.”

8) Guaranteed Issue (GI) Plans C and F will not be allowed to be sold to newly eligible, but GI plans D and G will.

9)  Plans K and L will remain the same, with the exception of the yearly raise of out-of-pocket expense.

10)  Plans M and N will not change.

11)  The rules also apply to “Medicare Select” plans.

Do NOT Fall For This Scam

By Lance D. Reedy

I have two clients that I know of that have gotten scammed by phishing emails. Don’t let this happen to you!

I just received this email in my inbox.  The footnotes in parenthesis are mine. It looks like this:

*****

From:  Amazon.com  info@mandre.net  (1)

Subject:  Payment details update required                                       4/11/2019  7:00 PM

To:  Undisclosed recipients

Message from Customer Service

We recently failed (2) to validate your payment information, (3a) we hold on record (2) for your Amazon account, (6)

therefore (3b) we need to ask you to complete a brief validation process in order to verify your billing and payment details (3g)

Click here to verify your account    (Don’t do this!!!)

Failure to complete the validation process will result in a suspension (4) of your Amazon membership.

We take every step needed to automatically validate our users, (5) (3c)

unfortunately (3d) in this case we were unable to verify your details.

The process will only take a couple of minutes (3e)

Thank you (3f)

Amazon.com

*****

How do you know this is a phishing email? Well, there is fraud written all over it.

1) Amazon never sends emails like this. The look is all wrong. Additionally, this email is in a black font only. If you have previously ordered from Amazon, you know that their emails are always multi-colored. As the scammers become more sophisticated, expect to receive multi-colored emails that mimic legitimate ones.

2) Look at footnote #1. The origin of this email is from “info@mandre.net.” That has nothing to do with Amazon, so you know right off the bat that this email is bogus. A genuine email from Amazon would have a return address of exactly @amazon.com.

3) Look at footnote #2. The language is awkward and stilted.  Amazon would NEVER say, “We recently failed…”  or “…therefore we hold on record…”  No major company would use language such as this. 

4) Look at footnotes #3. The punctuation is atrocious. The author could be from Russia, Nigeria, of some other scam-infested country. 3a and c are run-on sentences. 3b, d, and f need a comma. 3e and g need a period. Spell-check likely helped them get their spelling correct, but getting the punctuation up to snuff is another matter.

5) Look at footnote #4. Phishing and scam emails almost invariable attempt to motivate you to action by scaring you with dire consequences if you don’t comply with their request. Think for a moment, why would Amazon want to suspend your account? Really? Total nonsense!

6) Look at footnote #5. “validate our users…”   What does that mean? It’s gibberish!

7) Look at footnote #6. The scammer hit “enter” rather than continuing his sentence after the comma. That’s careless. A professional email would not do that.

8) Such emails are also designed to arouse your curiosity. A person’s thought might go like this, “It’s only a tiny little click. Let’s see what’s there.”

Remember the old saying, “Curiosity killed the cat?” Do you want to stick your hand into the mouth of a rattler so see what it will do? If a powerline is downed in a storm, do you want to grab a live wire to see if it’s hot?”

When you get these, study them if you want, but stay away from these “Click/Tap Here” tantalizers.

9) Lastly, you might ask yourself, “How does the sender of this email know that I have an Amazon account? Answer: They most likely don’t. Millions of people shop at Amazon. It’s like carpet bombing. If a scammer sends this email to enough people, he will hit folks with an Amazon account.

You’re welcome to stop reading here.

Advanced study

This second part is for those that would like to dig a little deeper into these phishing emails.  When I highlighted and copied the email into my word document, it looked like this:

*****

WDhjM5Se recently failed to valDhjM5Sidate your paDhjM5Syment inforDhjM5Smation, we hDhjM5Sold on record for your AmDhjM5Sazon acDhjM5Scount,

therefore we need to ask you to complete a brief valDhjM5Sidation proceDhjM5Sss in orDhjM5Sder to veDhjM5Srify your billing and paDhjM5Syment deDhjM5Stails

Click here to verify your account

FaiDhjM5Slure to complete the validDhjM5Sation procDhjM5Sess will result in a suspeDhjM5Snsion of your AmDhjM5Sazon memDhjM5Sbership.

We take every step needed to automDhjM5Satically validDhjM5Sate our users,

unfortuDhjM5Snately in this case we were unable to veriDhjM5Sfy your details.

The prDhjM5Socess will only take a couple of minutes

Thank you

Amazon.com

*****

What? Possible Explanation…

I asked my son Isaac if he could help me understand this. First, remember that email and website programming is done in HTML. Isaac opened up the HTML for this email and saw that the scammer had inserted these extra letters, DhjM5S, in the middle of various words. The font size was set to zero, meaning that they are there, but we the readers can’t see them.

Why would someone want to do this? Isaac postulated that this is done to fool spam filters. The gibberish seems to be inserted into words that spam filters might look at. Examples are validate, failure, verify, and payment. The scammer has now spoofed the spam filters, but we don’t see it. Kind of clever, I’d say. End

The Hacking of the American Mind Report #8—Picking the Lock to Nirvana

The Hacking of the American Mind by Dr. Robert Lustig

Remember the 1967 Beatles song, Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds? As soon Lustig referenced this song at the start of the chapter, I knew this chapter had something to do with LSD, a hallucinogenic drug.

LSD was first manufactured in 1938 in a Swiss lab by the pharmaceutical chemist Albert Hoffman. He tried out his new drug on himself in 1943. At first LSD was used to treat convicts and to try a cure for autism. The first commercial product hit the European market in 1947 under to name Delysid.

Native Americans have used Mescaline in religious ceremonies. Psilocybin is found in “magic mushrooms” used by indigenous people in Mexico. These hallucinogens have been used for a long time in their ceremonies. However, their hallucinogens had not been used in the mainstream culture.

However, LSD was a game changer concerning the use of hallucinogens in mainstream society. Hoffman’s LSD discovery opened up Pandora’s box and scientists wanted in.

Drinking the Electric Kool-Aid

In the early 1950s Scientists discovered incredible structural similarities between serotonin and these hallucinogenic compounds, LSD and psilocybin in particular. Please refer to pages 110 and 111 for more details. Here is the key part:

One set of scientists started altering the molecular structure of these compounds to increase their potency, while another set of scientists labeled them with radioactivity to look at their binding sites in the brain and their mechanisms of action. After years of trial and error, they discerned that these compounds acted as a serotonin agonist, meaning that they mimicked serotonin and would bind to specific serotonin receptors in the brain.; namely the -1a and -2a receptors.

Lustig recalls the turbulence of the latter 1960s, meaning the Viet Nam War protests, disillusionment with the U.S. government, and the civil rights movement. Many young people tuned in to Dr. Timothy Leary’s mantra, “Turn on, tune in, and drop out.” Needless to say, turning on with LSD became a popular thing to do in many circles, particularly middle-class young adults.

Lustig mentions that some users had “bad trips” and others had “good/mellow trips.” The bad trips involved unwanted fear and paranoia. His key point is that in general, hallucinogens magnify the emotional and mental state of the user at the time.

Later research showed that few users of psychedelics demonstrated either dependence or withdrawal upon quitting. Most were able to walk away.

The Feds Raid the Party

Congress passed the Controlled Substance Enforcement Act in 1970 and established the Drug Enforcement Administration in 1973. They were charged with regulating “all dopamine, opioid, cannabinoid, and serotonin agonists. Heroin, marijuana, and all psychedelics were classified as Schedule 1.

Lustig asserts that during this time President Nixon was concerned about the spreading use of drugs among American youth. He continues by saying that Nixon’s concern was that America needed healthy soldiers to fight in the Viet Nam war, and young men spaced out on drugs wouldn’t be of much use to the military.

Lustig makes another reference to the Beatles’ Lennon and his song Imagine. It told young people to “lay down their guns, part with their worldly possessions and learn to live as one.” Lustig asks a rhetorical question, “Why did Lennon believe this?” Because he was singing Kumbaya with Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds?

Lustig poses another question: Can hallucinogens make you happy or, at a minimum, content? Answer: Not always.

A New Death with Dignity?

Lustig explains that there is ongoing research to see if psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms, will be of beneficial value for hospice patients. The studies are showing a reduction in long term anxiety and depression.

Special on Receptors—Buy One, Get One Free

Lustig poses this question: What ties serotonin, hallucinogens, and contentment together?

He makes this key comment:

…Through painstaking experiments on animals and humans, the mind-altering effects of all psychedelic compounds has been traced to the stimulatory effects on the serotonin -2a receptor.

My Comments; This section gets very technical and clinical. Please read pages 117-119 for his complete explanation.

Continuing:  …virtually the entire tryptomine class of psychedelics to which psilocybin and LSD belong, bind to both the -1a and -2a receptors. Mescaline only binds to the -2a receptor, so the user doesn’t have the afterglow as with the two afore-mentioned drugs.

Lustig asks another rhetorical question: Can this extra effect really treat alcohol and tobacco addiction? He expresses his doubt.

The Psychedelic Hangover

Recent studies suggest that LSD administration in normal volunteers suggests that the drug induces profound perceptual changes in the way these subjects see the world around them.

Lustig makes further comments:

The big issue with all centrally acting drugs is the concern over tolerance and either withdrawal or dependence—in other words their addiction potential. Despite demonstrating tolerance, these serotonin agonists have rarely been shown to lead to withdrawal or depression . . . they do not appear to be classically addictive.

He states that these serotonin agonists are not completely safe. There is no doubt that repeated daily dosing of LSD leads to reduction of effect.

Some of the new designer hallucinogens can still elicit the occasional bout of agitation, rapid heartbeat, and combativeness that requires an ER visit and IV sedation until the drug wears off.

Better Living Through Biochemistry

Lustig quotes research that suggests that our emotions are just the inward expression of biochemical processes in the brain.

In the case of hallucinogens, signaling of the serotonin -1a receptor drives contentment whereas signaling of the serotonin -2a receptor drives the mystical experience.

He concludes by saying in our modern society the role of mind-altering drugs to achieve heightened consciousness and/or contentment has yet to be determined.

Lustig says that we are our biochemistry and that this biochemistry can be manipulated, and this manipulation can be done for good or for ill.

My comments: My take is that Lustig does not wholesalely condemn the use of hallucinogenic substances. I think it’s safe to say that he holds that there may be some therapeutic value for some of these drugs in certain situations. One example is using these substances to ease anxiety for hospice patients.

On the other hand, he referred to the Harvard psychiatrist Dr. Timothy Leary as being public enemy number one due to his mantra of “Turn on, tune in, and drop out.” We can assume that since Dr. Lustig is a pediatric endocrinologist by training, he has seen countless young people’s lives ruined by drugs. We certainly can imagine that this drug use includes LSD and/or other psychedelic drugs. Many of the “drop-outs” are now living on the fringes of society, particularly as homeless and in many cases, just bums.

There’s one final point I’ll make. When I studied for my Master’s degree in education at the University of Montana, a requirement was to take a drug class. This was taught by the pharmacy department. We learned that drugs such as alcohol, caffeine, and nicotine and other more potent controlled substances like marijuana and opioids, were mood-altering drugs. Hallucinogenics, such as LSD, were mind-altering drugs. The takeaway for us is that in general the mood-altering drugs deal with our dopamine receptors and mind-altering drugs deal with our serotonin receptors. End

Have Your Medicare Supplement’s Rates Gone Up?

Note: We have revised and updated this article from a previous publication.

Unfortunately, Medicare supplement (Medsupp) rates continue to increase. The good news is that if your health is stable, you may be able to qualify for a lower cost plan.

For a more detailed explanation about the causes of these increases, please click here for our companion article, Why My Medicare supplement Rates Increase.

During the past few years most all companies have had rate increases to some extent or another. What can be done about this? The solution, of course, is to have us shop on your behalf for lower premium (if available) plans. Remember, you can change your Medsupp plan any month of the year, providing that you medically qualify. More about medical qualification shortly.

Another smart move may be to change plan letters. For example, if you have an increasingly spendy Plan F with Company X, a good solution is to switch to Plan G or even Plan N.

What if I have a health issue that no new company will accept?

The solution for the people in this situation may be switching to a Medicare advantage (MA) plan during the fall Annual Election Period (AEP and also known as Medicare open enrollment) that runs from October 15th through December 7th. There are pros and cons involved in switching to an MA plan. Please contact us for details. On the other hand, many people are happy enough that they just stay with their current plan. Nothing says that you have to change.

Why is it much easier to switch to a Medicare advantage (MA) plan?

The only health question on an MA application is kidney failure. You could have had a recent stroke, been treated for cancer in the past two years, or have multiple sclerosis, and you still can qualify for an MA plan. Those conditions will likely cause a decline on most any Medsupp company’s application.

However, switching to an MA plan is not feasible for some people if they live in a county that has no available MA plan. The exception is the new Medical Savings Account MA plan that currently is available in all counties in Montana and Wyoming.

How do I qualify for a new Medicare Supplement plan?

To qualify for a new Medsupp plan, in general you will need “No” answers to the following health questions. The language on each companies’ application will vary, but here are the key questions.

1) In the last two years have you had or been treated for circulatory or heart disease including a heart attack, heart bypass surgery, stent placement, atrial-fib, or pacemaker implantation?

2) Have you been treated for internal cancer, melanoma, or lymphoma in the last two years? (Does not include most skin cancers.)

3) Have you had a stroke or TIAs in the past two years?

4) Have you been diagnosed or treated for COPD, emphysema, or chronic bronchitis in the past two years?

5) Have you been hospitalized more than two times in the last two years?

6) Have you been diagnosed with any type of dementia, Alzheimer’s, or Parkinson’s disease? Note: One of our companies will take people with these conditions providing that there are no other major issues.

7) Do you have any planned surgeries such as a joint replacement or a cataract procedure recommended to be completed in the next twelve months?

8) Do you have any auto-immune disease such as AIDs, HIV, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis etc? (Other diseases may be included depending on the company.)

These are the major categories. A company may request additional information.

Routine prescriptions such as blood pressure, cholesterol, and type 2 diabetes meds are usually okay. Most companies have a drug decline list. Examples are opioids and many cancer related drugs. Most companies require that you list all prescriptions on your application. Certain combinations of drugs such as ones used to treat diabetes (particularly insulin) and hypertension may cause a decline with one or two companies.

Why do we pre-qualify you before applying?

If you have a medical condition that is iffy, we can shop for the company that is most likely to accept your application. One company may be more picky about one particular health issue compared to another. Through the years, we have learned that a certain health issue that may not fly with one company can go through with another.

Why are some people reluctant to change if they can quality for substantially lower rates?

The biggest reason that we have seen is fear. They are afraid that the new company won’t pay its claims. However, this fear is completely unfounded. The plans are standardized, and all companies pay their claims. We have seen some situations where a person could save $80 per month or more by changing out of an old, expensive plan. She won’t budge because she is deathly afraid that the new company won’t pay its claims.

Do you ALWAYS shop for the lowest rate available?

Not necessarily. In fact, there are a couple of companies that we want to avoid like the plague. One of them was owned by one hedge fund that pawned it off to another hedge fund. The game they play is to come out with absurdly low rates. People will chase those rates only to discover that within two years or so the rates are going through the roof.

The game is called “buying the business.” A company is willing to break even or even lose money to get a bunch of people signed up. They also entice agents to peddle their product with high commissions and lucrative production bonuses. Within two years or so they go to the state insurance department, show their losses, and file for big rate increases. Meanwhile, If a person has developed an uninsurable condition, he/she is stuck with that company. Sorry, that’s not a game we’re going to play. We’ll stick with legitimate companies.

How do I find out if I can get lower rates?

Please call us at (208) 746-6283 or (888) 746-6285, or by email us at lance@nwsimail.com. If you have a health situation that you believe may be an issue, contact us anyway, and we’ll see what we can do. End

Causes of Medicare Supplement Premium Increases

by Lance D. Reedy

Note: This article has been updated from a previous one.

In our companion article, Have Your Medicare Supplements Rates Gone Up?, we discuss what you can do if your rates have gone up.  Here we explain about the two main causes of these increases.

Cause #1: This one is the attained-age pricing that most states allow for their Medsupp plans. Here’s how it works. Company X has a rate, let’s say of $100 per month for a Plan G at age 65. Their rate chart says “Attained -age.” Company X takes its first attained-age increase at age 66. From there it increases at the rate of 3.5% per year. Their rate chart would look like this:

Attained-age Plan G
Age 65: $105.00
Age 66: $108.68
Age 67: $112.48
Age 68: $116.43
Age 69: $120.49
Age 70: $124.71

In this case, your premium increases 3.5% beginning at age 66 and every year thereafter. Some companies end their attained-age increases at age 80, and others go to age 99.

There are some variances for attained-age pricing. Company Y takes its first attained-age increase at age 68, again with a rate increase of 3.5% per year. Their rate chart would look like this:

Age 65: $105.00
Age 66: $105.00
Age 67: $105.00
Age 68: $108.68
Age 69: $112.48
Age 70: $116.43

Everything else being equal, I would choose Company Y over Company X for someone signing up at 65.

Just because a state’s insurance department allows attained-age pricing, doesn’t necessarily mean that all companies use it. A company at its own prerogative may choose issue-age pricing instead. Issue-age pricing means that if you sign up for a Medsupp at 65, let’s say with Company Z, you are always in the 65 year-old rate category. Since you are issued at age 65, your premium does NOT increase just because you advance in age.

Company Z’s rate chart may look like this.

Issue-age Plan G
Age 65: $112.00
Age 66: $112.00
Age 67: $112.00
Age 68: $112.00
Age 69: $116.00
Age 70: $120.00

If you come in at age 69, for example, your premium will be $116.00 per month, and then you will always be in the 69 year-old group.

Here’s the breakdown of how attained age pricing (if allowed) works in the five states we work in.

Idaho: An Issue-age state. Does not allow attained-age priced policies. The premiums typically start around $20 per month higher compared to attained-age pricing.

Montana: An attained-age state. Virtually all companies use attained-age pricing. Many of you have a company that is the exception and uses issue-age pricing.

Oregon: An attained-age state. All companies that I know of use attained-age pricing. Male-female rates are allowed; males are higher.

Washington: A community rated or flat-rate state. Each Medsupp plan letter has its own flat rate. It doesn’t make any difference for smoker or non-smoker, your age, or male vs. female. The rate is flat, period. Plan G’s might run around $190 per month.

Wyoming: An attained-age state. All companies that I know of use attained-age pricing. Male-female rates are allowed; males are higher.

Here’s the bottom line. Many people in Montana (but not all), Oregon, and Wyoming will have attained-age rate increases. Idaho, Washington, and those in Montana with an issue-age policy do not. However, the trade-off is that premiums usually start a little higher.

Note: One company in ID, MT, OR, and WY has its own unique pricing structure, which functions similarly to attained-age pricing.

Cause #2: All Medsupps eventually increase in premium due to the claims experience that any given company incurs. Let’s say Company W offers Medsupp plans F, G, and N.

As far as claims and premiums go, the people on Plan F are in one bucket, the people on Plan G are in their own bucket, and the Plan N folks have their own bucket. Premiums are money going into the bucket, and claims experiences (losses) and administrative expenses are money going out of the bucket.

Let’s say that the policyholders in Company W’s Plan F bucket as a group, begin to have more medical procedures. Bob Goodfellow has an unexpected open-heart surgery and Shirley Masters starts a chemo therapy regimen after a mastectomy.

Those two cases will incur substantial claims for the company and cause more money to flow out of the bucket. Let’s say that other Company W policyholders that increase their medical utilization of their Medsupp plan. The losses mount.

Finally, it gets to the point where Company W goes to the State Insurance Department, documents their increased losses, and files for a rate increase. If it’s 6%, for example, then everyone in Company W’s Plan F bucket goes up 6%. It makes no differences whether a policyholder has huge bills and another has had no claims at all. If the premium increase is 6%, then everyone goes up 6%.

As the people in any company’s block of business begin to age, the claims experience inevitably increases. The older standardized plans purchased prior to June 1, 2010 are all closed blocks of business and have increasingly greater rates of claims experience. That has put more pressure on rates.

More claims experience = more losses = premium increases.

There is another factor that leads to increased. claims. When Medsupps were initially offered, beginning in 1966, most plans covered the Hospital Part A deductible, just as most plans do today. In 1966 the Medicare Part A deductible was only $40. It wasn’t too long ago that it crossed over $1,000. More recently it looks like this.

  • 2016: $1,284
  • 2017: $1,316
  • 2018: $1,340
  • 2019: $1,364

Each year, as a policyholder is hospitalized, Company W has to pay out more money in claims. Even if the rate of hospitalizations is the same on a per 1,000-policyholder basis, the insurance company continually has to pay out more money.

Other Medicare deductibles and co-insurances also increase. As the Medsupp company continues to pay its own share of the costs, it has to pay out more and more every year coinciding with the increased obligations from Medicare. In fact, the companies usually send their policyholders a notice in the fall stating that they will automatically cover Medicare’s increases.

To sum up: As the company’s block of business ages, you have increasing medical utilization as well as gradually increasing deductibles and co-insurances from Medicare. Both of these cause more losses for the insurance company, and unfortunately, this leads to claims experience rate increases.

Conclusion: Both attained-age increases (OR, MT, and WY) along with increased claims experience (losses) will cause your Medsupp premiums to go up. The increases in ID and WA are due to claims experience only. While that’s nice for those two states, keep in mind that their rates start higher from the get-go.

What can I do to find lower rates?

Please refer to my companion article, Have Your Medicare Supplements Rates Gone UP? In addition to shopping for lower rates in general, sometimes switching from a Plan F to Plan G or Plan G to Plan N can be a smart more. If you have an older plan that has had substantial rate hikes and your health is stable, the chances are excellent that we can qualify you for lower rates. Please contact us, and we’ll start shopping for you. End

The Hacking of the American Mind Report #7—Contentment and Serotonin

Robert Lustig opens this chapter with a rhetorical question, which prescription medication (PM) has had the greatest societal impact. Cholesterol-lowering drugs? No. Anti-malarial drugs? No. Drugs to fight AIDS? No. Anti-inflammatories such as ibuprofen? Narcotics used for anesthesia? Viagra? No, no, and no.

The answer is Prozac (fluoxetine). Lustig explains that 16 to 18 percent if the population will at some time experience a major depressive disorder (MDD) in their lives. At any given time, 6-8 percent of the population are affected.

How were modern anti-depressants discovered? People with tuberculosis (TB) have been and still are treated with the drug, isoniazid. TB patients back in the 1950s out of the blue experienced a lifting of their depression. This led to further research, and scientists discovered that serotonin was responsible, in part, for the feeling of happiness and contentment. The serendipity effect of the drug is that it helped boost serotonin.

Lustig explains that there are two types of depression, retarded depression and agitated depression. Those with retarded depression can’t get out of bed and would kill themselves if they could. They require hospitalization. Much more common is agitated depression. These people can be anxious, irritable, sleepless, and just plain miserable. Both types of depression can be associated with individuals either eating and sleeping too much or too little. When Prozac was introduced in 1986, it helped people with both types of depression.

Pharmaceutical companies rushed their own versions of anti-depressants to the market. The common ones are as follows:

  • Zoloft or sertraline
  • Celexa or citalopram
  • Paxil or paroxetine
  • Lexapro or escitalopram
  • and others

These PMs are also know as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors or SSRIs and are now prescribed to alleviate a great many metal disorders. SSRIs and the third most prescribed class of drugs and are the most prescribed for people under 65. Shockingly, 11% of adolescents are taking an SSRI, not just for depression but for anxiety, anger management, premenstrual syndrome, and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Serotonin differs from dopamine in many ways. First, about 90% of the serotonin is produced in your gut, where serotonin is involved in neural and hormonal response to feeding and how full you are. About 9% can be found in your blood platelets. That means that only 1% of your serotonin is produced in your brain. Doing a urine test for serotonin levels is more reflective of what’s going on in your gut than it is in your brain.

There’s no biomarker for depression, no blood test that your doctor can administer. To diagnose clinical depression, doctors use a questionnaire known as the Beck Depression Inventory…

Serotonin neurons fan out to many different parts of the brain. Happiness can have many different definitions, manifestations and inputs because different interactions between regions of the brains influences different phenomena—joy, elation, love, etc. Please read pages 101-103 for more details.

The Sublime Science of Serotonin

Serotonin physiology has the same points of regulation as does dopamine.

1) Synthesis: The primary building block is tryptophan. Your body does not produce tryptophan,;it must be obtained from your diet. It’s found in small quantities in eggs, fish, and poultry. Vegetable protein sources are notoriously low in tryptophan.

Most of the tryptophan consumed is going to be used to produce serotonin in your gut…tryptophan is in competition with at least two other amino acids, phenylalanine and tyrosine, which are the building blocks for dopamine.

Put another way, dopamine completes with serotonin.

My Comment: This issue with tryptophan is one of many problems associated with a vegan diet.

Continuing:

2) Action:

Similar to dopamine, serotonin is released from its nerve terminals and must traverse the synapse to meet up with its receptor. Serotonin nerve terminals are all over the brain in order to bind to different receptors to exert different effects…

One receptor in particular, the serotonin-la receptor seems to be uniquely involved in decreasing anxiety and mitigating depression. It’s the binding to this receptor that is equated to well-being and contentment…Buspurone (Buspar) is a commonly used serotonin-la agonist in the treatment of severe anxiety.

3) Clearance:

After the packets of serotonin transmitters are released from the neuron, they need to traverse the synapse to get to the receptor. After they have bound to the receptor, they hang out in the synapse waiting to be recycled or deactivated.

This is the site of action of the newer SSRIs such as Prozac and the above-mentioned others. The intent of these drugs is to increase the amount of serotonin within the synapse to elevate mood. Having too much serotonin in the synapses can also be a problem.

For complete details of Lustig’s synthesis, action, and clearance discussion of serotonin, please read pages 104-106.

Always Look in the Bright Side of Life

Lustig explains that how well the serotonin mechanism in your brain depends on how happy you are.

Temperament goes a long way in explaining happiness, and differences in the serotonin transporter go a long way in explaining differences in temperament.

My comments: The four classic temperament types are sanguine, choleric, melancholic, and phlegmatic. There’s no question that people are born with these different and distinct temperaments. That there may be a serotonin connection is most intriguing.

Continuing: Lustig points out that blacks tend to exhibit less anxiety compared to whites and Hispanics. He suggests that perhaps one explanation is that the questionnaires used to derive this data are “culturally biased.” He also suggests that considering the history of slavery and discrimination, blacks might suffer from more anxiety.

Conversely, he mentions that blacks as a group have a higher percent of religious affiliation compared other racial groups. He suggests that this may provide then with a social basis for achieving happiness despite socioeconomic adversity.

Lustig also suggests that there may be a genetic difference or a biochemical reason as well. There is a known genetic difference in blacks which may slow down the clearance of serotonin. It’s like blacks have their built in SSRIs enabling them to become less depressed in adverse circumstances.

Too much serotonin can become a bad thing. Some of the side effects are irritability and suicidal thoughts and actions. There can also be negative levels of mood and impulsive aggression.

Serotonin syndrome, which results from too much serotonin activity because of SSRI overdose or interactions with other drugs, is characterized by changes in mental state and muscle tone, and autonomic nervous system problems. Going overboard on serotonin can take someone who’s morose and give them just enough brain activity and mental energy to make them suicidal, which is why people on anti-depressants shouldn’t dose themselves.

Lustig points out that there is no magic pill. A dose of Prozac for an 18 year-old may not work the same way for a 40 year-old. He mentions the use of anti-depressants for a woman suffering from post-partum depression. Her serotonin levels may return to normal after a year, but only 25% of those who take anti-depressants experience a full remission. Lustig ends the chapter with two rhetorical questions: Short of SSRIs, what hope do we have of achieving any meaningful happiness in life? Are we really a Prozac nation? Not quite. Read on.