free4now
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
- Joined
- Dec 28, 2005
- Messages
- 1,228
The good part is they do 60 day supplies for the same co-pay as a 30 day supply at a regular pharmacy for letting them cut out the middleman and his profit.
I hate to say it, but I've had a bad experience with mail order prescriptions as well. I use a prescription shampoo. It only comes in one size bottle, which is considered a 30 day supply. I tried ordering a 90 day supply through my insurance company's mail order provider. They took the order, took my $20 copay, and sent me just a single bottle instead of three. Figuring out what happenned took lots of followup, but eventually I got someone who said that it was because my prescription was only written for a 30 day supply (with lots of refills). I asked them "is there any way I can confirm ahead of time that I'll get a 90 day supply when I order and pay for a 90 day supply?" Their answer: No. "Can you refund my money since you didn't send me the 90 day supply I ordered?" No... prescriptions are nonrefundable.
Next time I had my doctor explicitly write a 90 day prescription. Sent it in, and got another single bottle (30 day supply) for the $20 copay. I didn't bother following up that second time, I'm assuming they must just have some rule they can't send more than one bottle per order.
I considered reversing the charges with my credit card company, but decided it wasn't worth getting into a war with my health provider.
I went into the local pharmacy and found that I only pay $5 copay for a single bottle. So even if I had gotten the full mail order supply it still would have been more expensive.
The problem with privatized healthcare is that it's nearly impossible for the customer to shop around for the best deal. Unlike all other industries, healthcare providers charge you however much they see fit, for whatever they see fit, without much if any veto rights on the part of the consumer. Add onto that the insurance companies financial motivation to not provide what you pay for, and it's just bad new for the little guy. The only way to win is not to play the game.