Be Careful When You Transfer Prescriptions to Your Mail Order Pharmacy

They made a suggestion.  I took them up on it.  I got screwed.  While I was on my account on my Mail Order Pharmacy's site,  I see a note that I can transfer my Retail Pharmacy prescriptions to their Mail Order Pharmacy.


What a good idea!  There are meds I am using repeatedly and by transferring them,  not only can I get 3 months at a time, but I get a price break when I do.  Let me state that this policy is with my insurance and may or may not be available with yours.


I call them to question prices and find out what I do exactly.  The rep says that he can do it for me on the phone.


We go over all the prescriptions and the prices.  Then we start transferring them one by one.


When we are on the first, he asks if I want auto refills and I said no because I am not sure how long I may need it and don't want to have to be responsible to cancel an auto refill.  He says that is fine and finalizes the order.  When he goes over it with me, he ends with..."and I set up auto refills for you."  I said that is not correct but he can't change it.  Back to square one for me and now I will have to call to stop the auto shipments.


After finishing with some others and doing it correctly, he tells me to call my doctors to let them know that they will receive a fax from the Mail Order Pharmacy requesting these be filled.


I do that right away and follow up my calls with emails.


A few days later I get an email from the Mail Order Pharmacy telling me that the prescriptions are being shipped.  When I go over each one, I notice that only 1 out of 3 are for a 3 month supply.  To add insult to injury, 1 of the meds is now costing me 2 and 1/2 times more than it did at the Retail Pharmacy for the same 1 month supply.


Immediately I am on the phone with a rep from the Mail Order Pharmacy.  I get more and more frustrated.  They put me on hold for a long time to check and tell me that my doctor ordered them for only 1 month instead of 3.


I ask that if the doctor calls them to change it to a 3 month supply, could they just add it to the original and send me 2 more, considering I just now paid so much more than I originally did at the Retail Pharmacy.


No, they could not.  The prescription is filled correctly from their end, so it is not their problem. I ask for  a supervisor.  After explaining it all, he will not budge.  I ask if he could give me a courtesy credit for the difference I had to pay them from the Retail Pharmacy price since it was not my fault, and he refuses.  They do not care how much it cost me and he has the audacity to tell me to ask my doctor for a credit since the doctor made the mistake.


The worst part of it is that I did everything correctly and I now have to pay so much more, it was absurd.


I ended the call not believing what had just occurred.


My doctor has sent them a new prescription for the correct quantity but I am not even sure it will get filled now that they just filled one.


This entire experience was a no-win situation.


So please, if you ever find yourself transferring prescriptions, cover your bases even more than I did. You just never know!

The Hunt For Medical Insurance

Finding yourself in limbo regarding medical insurance coverage?  It is not a good place to be.


Depending on how much you want to spend is not the problem.  It is getting coverage for individuals, period.


If you are not part of a group, if you don't own a company and are incorporated, or if you are not a sole proprietor, there isn't much hope to find good coverage.


All my research is based on living in New York, where going to doctors is expensive to begin with.


You can start searching for plans using the website:  www.ehealthinsurance.com. You input the information requested and in seconds, you can see what is available.  What you find are a few plans, either Indemnity, PPO or HMO's. For those not familiar with an Indemnity plan, they function as "fee for service."  You go to any doctor you choose, the insurance company pays a set amount of the total charge.  You may have pay up front and then you apply for reimbursement. You would have to check to see if these cover specific doctors because I don't trust anything without asking exact questions.   There are high annual deductibles and you do much of the paperwork.  


Finding names of doctors you may already know or have heard of could be difficult on some of these plans.


And to add insult to injury, two plans which are Empire Blue Cross/Blue Shield, have not signed contracts with at least two hospitals I know of and the number could be higher. Maybe this will change over time, but for the present time, it is another roadblock. 


You can go to:  www.healthyny.com, for small business and working individuals, but unless you are earning very little and have limited savings or a limited source of other income, don't bother to apply. Check all the requirements to be sure.


If you are a recent college graduate, try a type of Gap Insurance until you land a job by looking at:  www.gradmed.com.


There is a website:  www.nahu.org, National Association of Health Underwriters, to help you navigate plans and find an agent.


If you do freelance work and earn at least $10,000 in a 6 month period and have the documentation to prove your earnings, you may be eligible for insurance from:  www.freelancersunion.org.  I obtained the name of this organization from an insurance broker whom could not offer any other solution for "individual" insurance.  This organization was also mentioned in a Business Week article from October 13, 2008.


This is a start, although not an easy task.  You can easily see why so many people in the United States are not insured.

Who Wouldn't Want Free Medical Advice?

With the internet, you can find an answer to most medical symptoms you may be experiencing any time of day.  I know that I find myself researching medical issues for myself or family at least once a week.

I have been using two web sites most of the time.  One is WebMD and the other is MayoClinic.

Each one has enough information to help you discover what ailment you may actually have, what side affects you may get from the medication you are taking, advice on healthy living and WebMD even has a section on pet health.

The internet is filled with many sites offering similar information, but I find that I have the best luck with these two.

Staying healthy is important and when we need to find an answer quickly, it is great to know that you are only a click or two away.

Where to look:  www.WebMD.com and www.MayoClinic.com