I'm convinced my insurance company screws with me b/c it knows what I do for a living. I recently got a letter from UnitedHealth saying the copay for my prescription was going up from $30/month to $125/month. Actually, they didn't even spell it out that clearly. They said it was going up to Tier 3, and I had to do a ridiculous amount of digging through their website's related website to find a dollar amount. With that kind of jump, no wonder they bury the specifics.
Turns out I've got limited options. I either pay $125/month ($1500/year), or I get my doctor to find a comparable generic. But the catch is that it's an extended release drug, and there is no generic extended release version on the market. I either accept a possibly less effective substitute, pay, or go without.
I've got a call into the doctor, and I'll let you know what he comes up with. But every time I have to go through something like this, I think about the people who don't have the freedom during the day to make the calls, haggle, fight the system, etc. I think about the people being manipulated by corporate greed - people who just want to fill the prescription their doctor recommended and get on with their lives - and it makes me really glad I do what I do.
1 comment:
I have a relatively good insurance plan through my employer, but there are some disturbing changes in our 2010 plan details, just released.
Among them is a provision that will force us to pay a 50% copay for non-generic maintenance medications (needed for longer than three months) UNLESS we fill the prescription through mail-order.
I know there are plans that require mail-order, and I know people who don't have complaints about having this requirement. But as one who requires numerous meds due to chronic health conditions, I so much prefer the option of finding a local pharmacy that I trust than going through the Amazon.com of drugs. (Actually, I might trust Amazon more than this drug-benefit goliath).
It's probably far from a top concern for myself or anyone, but I am displeased to lose choice in pharmacies. (50% copays for brand name drugs would cost me at least $500/month).
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