Prescriptions (vent)

annabelle2910

I think it should be non-negotiable to notify a patient prior to raising the cost of a prescription.  Mine just went up $30/month, and of course they don't make a generic.

Thanks for listening.

NewNameSameGame

huh?

I mean its a prescription, right, so you NEED to take it, right? 

Or would you stop taking it if it went up in cost?

And who should call, the pharmacy?  I imagine drug prices change often, what a waste of their time.  your doctor?  Again, not what you are paying them for.

I guess I don't see what you think someone telling you that the price is going up is going to do......

peekaboo716

Did your insurance change? Maybe your insurance company changed what they covered. They (insurance company) should have informed you of that.

Andrewsgal

NewNameSameGame:

huh?

I mean its a prescription, right, so you NEED to take it, right? 

Or would you stop taking it if it went up in cost?

And who should call, the pharmacy?  I imagine drug prices change often, what a waste of their time.  your doctor?  Again, not what you are paying them for.

I guess I don't see what you think someone telling you that the price is going up is going to do......

This!

What difference would it have made? And who should do this? Who had the time? 

annabelle2910

The insurance didn't change, but the medication changed tiers apparently.  It would have been nice for the insurance company to notify me of that. 

Andrewsgal

annabelle2910:

The insurance didn't change, but the medication changed tiers apparently.  It would have been nice for the insurance company to notify me of that. 

With the hundreds of thousands of people my insurance company covers I don't think that is a fair expectation, stuff like this changes all the time. To notify everyone of every change would cost so much money and that cost would be passed on to me...no thanks! 

Andrewsgal

annabelle2910:

The insurance didn't change, but the medication changed tiers apparently.  It would have been nice for the insurance company to notify me of that. 

With the hundreds of thousands of people my insurance company covers I don't think that is a fair expectation, stuff like this changes all the time. To notify everyone of every change would cost so much money and that cost would be passed on to me...no thanks! 

annabelle2910

I think it would have been appropriate for my insurance company to notify me that a prescription that I have been taking for the last year, and will continue to take, would be going up in price because it switched teirs. 

The insurance company notifying me of a price change would have prevented surprise, and questions when I got to the pharmacy, thus reducing the amount of questions I asked the pharmacist, and the extra time it took. 

It would also give me the chance to meet with my doctor to determine if I could change to a medication that would create the same results with less money, if that is what I wished.

Luckily I am not struggling financially and was able to afford the extra cost, so it is essentially a moot point, however, I would have appreciated the notification. 

annabelle2910

I would think they could do some sort of computer generated message, like my dentist does to notify me of an appointment. 

Muffins_Mom

I can't tell you the number of times I hear this from associates who simply chose to ignore communications from the insurance company. Did you contact the insurance company?

annabelle2910

I did call them after I picked it up from the pharmacy, they just simply said it changed tiers.  She said it could happen at anytime, without notification. 

annabelle2910

-auntie-

The insurance co. said that my rx was considered in a non preferred tier now, so the copay is higher. 

Sorry about your experience.  It just doesn't seem right does it? 

Muffins_Mom

My guess is that, if its now non-preferred, there should (at least) be something that's considered a "therapeutic alternative" to the drug, even if there's not a generic. I'd contact your doctor and ask him. You should check the insurance company's website to see if you can get a list of what's generic, preferred and non-preferred there. It sucks but I'd probably make it a point to check any maintenance drug (something you're taking each and every day) before I picked it up from the pharmacy.

BubblyToes

It's the first of the year. With the new changed to healthcare, most people's costs went up. It is YOUR responsibilty as a patient AND consumer to be aware of this. I would bet a small fortune that you DID receive correspondence from your insurance company before the end of last year. You may just not have read through it. A lot of people don't. Which is sad when you think about it. People need to take a more active role in their healthcare, whether it be diagnoses or insurance. **steps off soap horse***

annabelle2910

Well, you would have lost your small fortune, because I did NOT receive anything.  However, I would agree that I need to become more proactive in making sure nothing like this happens again.