Nuva Ring co-pay

carecamp · May 2011

I am thinking about getting the Nuva Ring and want to find out what kind of co-pay/coverage I have for it with Tricare Standard. Does anyone use it or familiar with it. I am not sure where I can find out my out of pocket cost with a specific type of birth control. THANKS!

GracieLou Freebush · May 2011

I haven't used it in a year so I can't remember exactly but it was either $10 for 3 or $30 for 3. I'm on Prime.

ufsandra85 · May 2011

on standard do you get free prescriptions at a military pharmacy? If so it is free. I always had nuva ring and got it from the navy health clinic and it was free for a 30 or 90 but I was on prime?

hilwithonelary · May 2011

I am an Air Force pharmacist. NuvaRing is a $9 co pay/month at a retail pharmacy.

NuvaRing is not required to be on the formulary at base pharmacies, but most bases I've encountered have carried it. If they do carry it, you can get it for free (even if you're on Standard).

If you ever want to know the co pay for a medication, check out this link: https://pec.ha.osd.mil/formulary_search.php

The link will also tell you if the medication is Basic Core Formulary (which means that all military pharmacies are required to carry it), Uniform Formulary (which means that military pharmacies have the option to carry it), or Non-Formulary (which means military pharmacies are not allowed to carry it).

shall923 · May 2011

When I used it I ordered it through the mail order pharmacy, Express Scripts. Have your doctor write the prescription for 3 months at a time. It will cost $9 for a 3 months supply and they mail it to your house. If you put it on automatic refill you don't have to do anything as long as the prescription is active. I have several prescriptions that I take regularly through Express Scripts.

mysticl · May 2011

hilwithonelary:
I am an Air Force pharmacist. NuvaRing is a $9 co pay/month at a retail pharmacy.

NuvaRing is not required to be on the formulary at base pharmacies, but most bases I've encountered have carried it. If they do carry it, you can get it for free (even if you're on Standard).

If you ever want to know the co pay for a medication, check out this link: https://pec.ha.osd.mil/formulary_search.php

The link will also tell you if the medication is Basic Core Formulary (which means that all military pharmacies are required to carry it), Uniform Formulary (which means that military pharmacies have the option to carry it), or Non-Formulary (which means military pharmacies are not allowed to carry it).

That link is great. What is the rational behind them not being allowed to carry certain drugs?

carecamp · May 2011

hilwithonelary:
I am an Air Force pharmacist. NuvaRing is a $9 co pay/month at a retail pharmacy.
NuvaRing is not required to be on the formulary at base pharmacies, but most bases I've encountered have carried it. If they do carry it, you can get it for free (even if you're on Standard).
If you ever want to know the co pay for a medication, check out this link: https://pec.ha.osd.mil/formulary_search.php
The link will also tell you if the medication is Basic Core Formulary (which means that all military pharmacies are required to carry it), Uniform Formulary (which means that military pharmacies have the option to carry it), or Non-Formulary (which means military pharmacies are not allowed to carry it).

Thanks for the link! Very helpful!

hilwithonelary · May 2011

mysticl:
hilwithonelary:

I am an Air Force pharmacist. NuvaRing is a $9 co pay/month at a retail pharmacy.

NuvaRing is not required to be on the formulary at base pharmacies, but most bases I've encountered have carried it. If they do carry it, you can get it for free (even if you're on Standard).

If you ever want to know the co pay for a medication, check out this link: https://pec.ha.osd.mil/formulary_search.php

The link will also tell you if the medication is Basic Core Formulary (which means that all military pharmacies are required to carry it), Uniform Formulary (which means that military pharmacies have the option to carry it), or Non-Formulary (which means military pharmacies are not allowed to carry it).

That link is great. What is the rational behind them not being allowed to carry certain drugs?

The DoD has a Pharmacy and Therapeutics committee that decides whether medications are place in BCF, UF, or NF. They evaulate all new drugs when they originally come to market (there's usually a 6-9 month delay) and they periodically reevaluate whole classes of drugs (e.g. they recently looked at all non-insulin diabetes drugs).

They are looking at cost, risk, and effectiveness. This doesn't mean that only the cheapest drugs are put on formulary. Between two drugs with similar effectiveness, a substantially cheaper one will win out. However, if an expensive drug has significant advantages over a cheaper one, it is likely to be placed on formulary. If you're ever interested in seeing the kinds of things considered during a P&T meeting, all the meeting minutes are published at https://www.tricare.mil/pharmacy/pt_cmte/default.htm

At the retail level, NF drugs have a $22 co pay. This allows people to have choice in their medications, but to also have a monetary incentive to choose a formulary drug first since the co pay is $3 for generic and $9 for brand. If military pharmacies were allowed to carry NF drugs, this monetary incenitve would disappear.

I know some people get frustrated with the Tricare pharmacy benefit, but I think it's actually one of the best pharmacy benefits out there. When I worked retail, a lot of people would pay $30 or $50 for their brand name co pay. If something wasn't on their insurance's formulary, they would simply have to pay cash price.

Also, if you truly need a non-formulary medication, there is always a way to get it covered. For all NF meds, Tricare publishes a Medical Necessity form. You can access all of them online at https://pec.ha.osd.mil/forms_criteria.php.

Let me know if you have any more questions.

karaknr · May 2011

Free at a military pharmacy.

jeleighshelton · May 2011

I know that everyone is different, so I am not telling you what to do by any means

...I just thought I would share my experience. I have an almost seven month old, and started the Nuva Ring at 2 months. I used it perfectly, but still got pregnant. I am now 13 weeks, and every doctor I have seen so far has made the comment "Yeah, we see a lot of expecting moms who were on the Nuva Ring"...If even one person had told me that it doesn't always work, then maybe I wouldn't be in this position...lol...I will have two babies 13 months apart and my husband will only be 3 months into a year long deployment...yay

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