Prescription Nonsense

[Narragansett]

A few months ago, I went into CVS to get a refill, and they told me 25.00 copay for 90 days. I said why has it doubled? Standard answer, you have to talk to your insurance company. So I said, How much for 30 days. The answer was 3.96. So I said put it on 30 day refill. I am always in the area to go into the pharmacy, so no problem.

Yesterday I got the notice my refill was ready, so I went in to pick it up. It was filled for 90 days and was free.

Figure that out

 

[series guy]

I got a refund check from my prescription drug company in the mail last week. It was for $.07. Yes seven cents. I have also had the same experience as you as far as co-pay. There are people in charge that shouldn't be in charge.

 

[GnarlsR2]

Hummm…

There are a number of possibilities.
The pharmacy could be cook'n the books on the insurance company?
The pharmacy person could have made a mistake. Incompetence in a pharmacy is scary?
As curious as I am, I would not have asked for an explanation of the change, just to avoid any "investigation" into the actual cause and effect.

Is there a better cost than free?

 

[duke2002]

I had somewhat the same deal with a pharmacy. Went to pick my script up. 5$ co pay. They told me 2.96$ i asked why it was 2.96$ thats what it costs. I asked to talk to a manager asked the same question. I was told well you dont have ins. Told then yes i do they looked then told me it would be 5$. Again why? Because you have a 5$ co pay!!

 

[TXBryan]

My Mother passed late this spring and towards the end I was her healthcare coordinator and giver which included keeping track of the myriad of prescriptions that seemed to multiply as time grew shorter. As the one who routinely procured her medications I was frequently at a loss to understand why costs were inconsistent for the same product from the same pharmacy. She, too, received multiple checks for refunds on pharmaceuticals that were almost always less than a dollar. I was never curious enough to question the insurance providers as that took real effort.

Bryan

 

[WR Moore]

There's a slew of prescription discount providers out there. The good folks behind the counter sort through them and find you the best deals. My local CVS is great about that, they even found stuff that beat my RX insurance coverage to the point I dropped it. Maybe others aren't so diligent

 

[THE PILGRIM]

One of my remaining Military Medical 'benefits' is Tricare's Express Scripts Online Pharmacy.
My cheapie generic prescription there is $13.
I get it from nearby Smith's Grocery pharmacy for $1.13.
Say What?

 

[erikpolcrack]

We've had similar things happen with our prescriptions, but they don't hold a candle to our doctor visits! Our insurance company has a policy of $20 co-pays for regular appointments and no co-pay for your annual physical exam. We regularly participate in a comedy show where our provider doesn't charge us when they should and does charge us when they shouldn't. This results in refund checks from our insurance company or dunning letters from them for the co-pay. After that happens, we often get either a refund or a co-pay bill from the provider - all for the same visit! So far, the record is three cycles of this before it stops. My wife is extremely diligent (and an accountant), so she adds to the action by sending letters and emails to both parties explaining to them how their systems work and what they should do. I just sit back and ignore the whole thing after ascertaining that we're not taking small arms or artillery fire.

 

[G-Mac]

I was using a Rite-Aid pharmacy for all of my prescriptions but they closed. I transferred to the Walgreen's up the road. Not a real big deal, but now all of my pills look different.

 

[TX-Dennis]

Gotta love those 7 cent checks. Cost way more to print and send it to you.

As a retail manager, we get a quarterly bonus. In the old days the bonus was a straight percentage of the store's net profit for the quarter. That is no longer how the bonus works, but that's another tale. A manager at another location once showed me her bonus check for the previous quarter. It was a check for 12 cents. This was close to 30 years ago. We had a good laugh about it, then she framed it and hung it on the wall above her desk.

 

[Chuck24]

Picked up one today, 10 cents. I think the plastic bottle it came in cost more.

 

[sceva]

with my insurance I pay the lesser of the two, actual or co-pay

 

[Rustyt1953]

As you can well imagine I require a hod load of prescriptions. My OOP is negligible.

I have no complaints.

 

[ISCS Yoda]

Tricare's Express Script services can be a little off-putting and their Rxs are not always the cheapest. If you go to your own page and look at the drug comparison prices, you'll spot that right away.

But, speaking of insanity in drug pricing, my ophthalmologist put me on "Miebo", a very expensive eye drop. The little bottle was $76.00. It came in the mail from a local "compunding pharmacy" that I never heard of. Okay, I expected it to be expensive, and I can afford that, so I said nothing. Second bottle - $76.00. Sigh....again, I'll live with it. Third bottle.................................................$740.00!!!!!!!!!!! So NOW I followed up, only to be told the first two are $76, but after that, it's full retail. I told them to lose my prescription.

Meanwhile, the doc called in a new Rx for Miebo directly to Express Scripts. Back to $76.00. Okay, but now I'm POed about the whole thing.

Sidebar - here's the Internet AI explanation of what Miebo is:

Miebo (perfluorohexyloctane) is a prescription eye drop used to treat the signs and symptoms of dry eye disease. It is a first-in-class, water-free, and preservative-free solution that specifically targets tear evaporation, a primary cause of dry eye. Miebo works by spreading quickly and evenly in the eye to form a protective layer that reduces tear evaporation, helping to keep more of the eye's natural tears.

So, that's what it is and what it is for. But in my misspent youth, I was a licensed pharmacist, and I can pronounce "perfluorohexyloctane" AND I KNOW FOR A FACT that the price is ridiculous in the USofA, so I ordered five bottles of perfluorohexyloctane eye drops straight from Germany for $20 per bottle. SAME SAME FOLKS!!!!