LoboGunLeather
US Veteran
I thought all of this nonsense was fixed when the Affordable Care and Patient Protection Act was passed into law. I guess some folks haven't gotten the news yet.
My Doctor's Office Has Become STUPID
- Thread starter steamloco76
- Start date
OP
First, you have my extreme sympathy. I'm diabetic one three different injections and have several other problems I need meds for, two of them are controlled, which makes me have to go to the doctor's office and get a prescription to hand carry it to the pharmacy.
It's a continuous crock of baloney trying to keep all the prescriptions current when anything stops the process in mid stream and I don't even know until my meds are out.
OK....Stupid doctor's offices. I was scheduled for hernia surgery but the day before the procedure I was called and told I needed clearance from my cardio guy. I've been trying for days to get somebody to call me back, but nothing. I'm going to have to go to the office in person to talk to a real person.
Also, my endo guy wanted my primary to take over triglycerides med because he is doing the blood panels. Same as above, I've been trying all week to get somebody to call me back. I'm going to have to go to the office in person to talk to a real person.
It's like EVERYTHING that you try to do that should take 10-15 minute takes days to accomplish, the reason being that everything has gone STUPID.
My wife has way more health issues than I do, which is incredible considering my list! Due to degenerative bone disease, she takes a fairly high dose of a controlled drug. Not only does she need to physically pick up the handwritten script monthly, just as you do, CVS will not stock monthly quantities of that med, so she had to call all over to find the single local pharmacy that wasn't afraid to dispense a high dose controlled substance!!
She has also been having troubles with getting the correct amount of insulin, once again due to the sliding scale and CVS Caremark.
People with good genetics don't understand the struggle!!!
OP
Yes, but why should I pay nearly $400 per vial out of pocket when my prescription plan covers insulin? I pay dearly for good coverage, so I USE my coverage.
Revenge, not necessity
You need an adequate supply to address the problems you've experienced. Think of it as pay back, not revenge. We're on our last leg, medically speaking, what have we got to lose. Less idiots and bureaucrats for the survivors to overcome.
That would be why I don't need a massive ammo stockpile. If the worst happens, there probably won't be the meds out there to keep me alive to shoot the ammo.
You need an adequate supply to address the problems you've experienced. Think of it as pay back, not revenge. We're on our last leg, medically speaking, what have we got to lose. Less idiots and bureaucrats for the survivors to overcome.
CAJUNLAWYER
Member
Ain't progress wonderful??????
My wife rolls over into medicare next year and I'm not looking forward to THAT. She is on a bunch of maintenance medications and I fear that, like you, she will have to go the 90 day mail order route and have to drive to New Iberia to get her scripts rather than around the block to our pharmacy.
Rastoff
US Veteran
Aren't you glad they made health care affordable?
That's where most of your refill problems are coming from.
That's where most of your refill problems are coming from.
Yeah, and the prices too.
I got a rash on my left hand that just kept getting worse so I went to see the doc. He prescribed a steroid creme. Went to get the prescription filled and the out of pocket cost for the cheapest GENERIC version of the stuff was $108 for a little tube!
I can't imagine what the costs must be for those who have to take maintenance meds for chronic long term conditions.
This is someone's idea of Affordable Care?
dougb1946
Member
Blame the big pharmacies. They own congress. There is no reason on earth that insulin should see a price increase ever, but it happens. The CEO probably needed more cash to pay his kids college bill. Or he needed a bigger boat. Until something is done to control actual medical expenses, the insurance prices will increase.
never heard of any federal program cancelling medication...........this sounds like a change in your insurance coverage..................contact your prescription insurance company and get answers.....
Ummm, isn't that how free enterprise works?
I'm not in favor of even more governmental regulation and involvement in the medical delivery system.
That's a big part of why it is so screwed up now IMO.
Last edited:
Sounds more like a paperwork snafu to me - and the ACA is rife with those, since they are now regulating pretty much every aspect of medical care - from requiring you to have insurance to what the doctors get paid, to how prescriptions are dispensed...
Last edited:
OP
The so called Affordable Care Act definitely has much to do with many of these problems. I think the ACA is why some of my doctors staff called it a career
dougb1946
Member
Have you noticed how much money big pharmacies donate to our fearless leaders. There is a reason we don't get to buy imported drugs. Medicare part 5 was written by pharma reps who included the "can not bargain for prices" line and the donut hole. The money paid to the politicians is not to increase competition, which would be "free market", but rather to limit competition
Medicare Drug Planners Now Lobbyists, With Billions at Stake - ProPublica
It's a bipartisan approach to job security. For politicians.
Last edited:
I don't dispute any of that - but isn't that an example of how involving the GOVERNMENT has corrupted the process?
Big pharma has to spend billions to develop, test, and produce a new drug before it even comes to market. The FDA and other government regulatory agencies throw up so many roadblocks and make it so difficult and expensive that there has to be some way for the pharma companies to recoup those costs - or else they wouldn't even try to create anything new. Shareholders wouldn't stand for them taking the risks unless there was an almost certain payback.
Since the government controls the whole process, pharmaceutical companies HAVE to get into bed with the politicians on both sides of the aisle to have any hope of being successful and turning a profit for shareholders.
I hope that isn't too political and doesn't earn me a ding....
Last edited:
ChattanoogaPhil
Member
- Joined
- Oct 18, 2009
- Messages
- 14,601
- Reaction score
- 20,622
Yup, sometimes we pay more for the drugs that are invented by US companies than other folks pay in other countries for the same drugs from the same US companies. But then again, it's nice to have new drugs to be able to buy. If we relied on new drugs invented from say... um... a country like Canada for the past 50 years... what new drugs would have had to choose from?
While I may or may not be able to afford the next miracle drug invented by US companies, I'd sure like to have the option.
If ya think medicines are too expensive, think how expensive they are when they don't exist. The richest Kings in history had none. Count your modern medicine blessings.
While I may or may not be able to afford the next miracle drug invented by US companies, I'd sure like to have the option.
If ya think medicines are too expensive, think how expensive they are when they don't exist. The richest Kings in history had none. Count your modern medicine blessings.
Last edited:
Exceptionally succinct and well said Phil. Innovation has a cost. Unfortunately, government red tape and politicians with their hand out (looking for "contributions" from pharmaceutical company lobbyists) just add to those costs.
And BTW, so do lawsuits. Ever notice how just about every new wonder drug you see a commercial for will also have some law firm advertising for people to join a class action lawsuit against it? One that comes to mind right off the top of my head is Xarelto. I took it for a couple of weeks after major surgery on my right knee & calf to prevent me having a heart attack or stroke from throwing a clot.
The commercials for it talk about how much better it is than other blood thinners like Warfarin - less routine monitoring and blah, blah, blah. Then I see there is a class action lawsuit being formed because some people suffered excessive bleeding. IT IS A BLOOD THINNER AND ANTI-COAGULANT FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE! The POTENTIAL for excessive bleeding is part of the deal - anybody with a lick of common sense should get that. Not to mention that many of them likely might have suffered a fatal clot if they hadn't taken it.
But the lawyers want to sue the makers for the medication doing what it is intended to do! Not because they didn't do all the required testing, or jump through all the government hoops for approval, or do everything they could to make it a safe as possible. No, they're being sued because it worked - possibly too well - and the producers will either spend millions defending themselves or settling the lawsuit. Is it any wonder medications cost what they do?
Sorry, I got on my anti-tort soapbox a little there....
Last edited:
Fishslayer
US Veteran, Absent Comrade
OP
I just left a dent in the wall from banging my head against it!!!
Now CVS CareMark has put my insulin prescription on hold pending an evaluation of my doctors response to their question of my diagnosis!! WHAT? this is the insulin I've been taking for four years. All they are trying to do is correct the dose and make sure the CVS pharmacist understands the amount needed to cover the dose for 90 days. Simple math XX units per doses per day. Multiply by 30 to get the 30 day supply, multiply that by 3 to get the 90 day supply. (Uh oh, I wonder if they use Common Core Math- so I need to add a Kryptonite conversion factor into its "math relationship"!!)
Now CVS CareMark has put my insulin prescription on hold pending an evaluation of my doctors response to their question of my diagnosis!! WHAT? this is the insulin I've been taking for four years. All they are trying to do is correct the dose and make sure the CVS pharmacist understands the amount needed to cover the dose for 90 days. Simple math XX units per doses per day. Multiply by 30 to get the 30 day supply, multiply that by 3 to get the 90 day supply. (Uh oh, I wonder if they use Common Core Math- so I need to add a Kryptonite conversion factor into its "math relationship"!!)
hardcase60
Member
Steamloco76,
I sympathize with you and the situation with CVS/Caremark. If you think yours is bad I hope you never have to deal with OptumRx. IMHO, the entire health care industry for seniors and those with chronic conditions is in the crapper. Whomever coined this as our "Golden" years was either dreaming or drunk. The debate about whose fault this is has continued for decades and will for more years than I have left to breath. Yes, the government has some blame. The pharmaceutical companies also have a hand in the mess. But, the insurance industry may well be the largest culprit. Again, IMHO they run health care. I truly believe, so to speak, we are paying for the sins of our fathers. Many many many decades ago medical practitioners, pharmacists and patients used health insurance as a conduit for the absurd. I have been told first hand and seen with my own eyes how they abused the system. In the old days if a physician wrote a Rx for something, the pharmacist would fill it (no questions asked), the patient got what she/he wanted and the insurance company got billed for it. Back then the patient payed out of pocket then submitted the receipts for reimbursement. Again, if a prescription had been written/telephonic communicated to the pharmacy/durable medical supply provider then the insurance company paid for it. There were little or no checks and balances. If an insurance company questioned a claim they would contact the physician and if he verified the order/prescription then the claim was paid. End of story. Jack Daniels prescribed for minor anxiety would never fly today. A "special" new bed for sleep disorder also wouldn't pass the smell test. Any system that is ripe for abuse will either fail or get fixed. And here we are.............. hardcase60
I sympathize with you and the situation with CVS/Caremark. If you think yours is bad I hope you never have to deal with OptumRx. IMHO, the entire health care industry for seniors and those with chronic conditions is in the crapper. Whomever coined this as our "Golden" years was either dreaming or drunk. The debate about whose fault this is has continued for decades and will for more years than I have left to breath. Yes, the government has some blame. The pharmaceutical companies also have a hand in the mess. But, the insurance industry may well be the largest culprit. Again, IMHO they run health care. I truly believe, so to speak, we are paying for the sins of our fathers. Many many many decades ago medical practitioners, pharmacists and patients used health insurance as a conduit for the absurd. I have been told first hand and seen with my own eyes how they abused the system. In the old days if a physician wrote a Rx for something, the pharmacist would fill it (no questions asked), the patient got what she/he wanted and the insurance company got billed for it. Back then the patient payed out of pocket then submitted the receipts for reimbursement. Again, if a prescription had been written/telephonic communicated to the pharmacy/durable medical supply provider then the insurance company paid for it. There were little or no checks and balances. If an insurance company questioned a claim they would contact the physician and if he verified the order/prescription then the claim was paid. End of story. Jack Daniels prescribed for minor anxiety would never fly today. A "special" new bed for sleep disorder also wouldn't pass the smell test. Any system that is ripe for abuse will either fail or get fixed. And here we are.............. hardcase60
