Moron Insurance.
Aug. 26th, 2003 01:31 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
same_skyI ventured out to town a couple of hours ago with a couple of errands I wanted to get over with in case I start feeling worse. I had to buy the new LoTR movie for my excitable husband (yes, and myself) at WalMart and I needed to stop at the pharmacy.
Every month, one of us stops in to pick up my pills. (Indeed, pills of the contraceptive sort.) They've been $28 all along, until last year when they started raising the price. When I last took in my prescription after about four or five months of not going in (trial packs) I had a new insurance company, so I gave them the card and "only" had to pay $30 of the actual cost -- $33.50. Sucks, but what can you do? I had always thought that insurance companies paid the bulk of the price and the customer just paid a nominal copay, but apparently that's not the way it works in the real world. I got a good introduction to how the System actually operates today. I swear I'm not making any of this up.
I went in and waited while they "filled my order". (Okay, I know jack about pharmacists, but these are prepackaged pills. Just go get the damned things and I'll be on my way.) When it was done, I went to the counter, he put the pills down and said, "That'll be $40." I must have looked a little shocked, because he asked if the price had gone up. I gave him the money, not in the mood to debate the matter, and he hesitated, looked down and said, "that doesn't even sound right." So he went back and started fiddling with the computer. He comes back and lets me know that indeed, the price of the pills without my insurance is $33.50. However, since I'm a responsible citizen of childbearing years, I'm paying out the ass every month for my quality insurance*, so the price for my birth control pills? $40. I'm actually supposed to give them $6.50 to not have children instead of just saving them from paying the expenses of pregnancy and childbirth. It's an incredible world we live in.
For those of you who need conclusions.. I ended up paying $12. He gave me a generic version, the existence of which has never once been mentioned to me before.. though to be fair, I didn't ask, either.
*Don't even get me started on the insurance industry, which doesn't pay for birth control pills but does pay for Viagra. Sure. Equality has been achieved, let's all just sit back and be happy and content. And when the male version of the bcp comes along (which is a generally horrible idea except in theory--the accountability just isn't there, and besides, men can barely remember to put the toilet seat down, much less take a pill every day, but this is a completely different subject), you can bet your ass it'll be covered by insurance. I guess this is a completely different rant, as well.
Every month, one of us stops in to pick up my pills. (Indeed, pills of the contraceptive sort.) They've been $28 all along, until last year when they started raising the price. When I last took in my prescription after about four or five months of not going in (trial packs) I had a new insurance company, so I gave them the card and "only" had to pay $30 of the actual cost -- $33.50. Sucks, but what can you do? I had always thought that insurance companies paid the bulk of the price and the customer just paid a nominal copay, but apparently that's not the way it works in the real world. I got a good introduction to how the System actually operates today. I swear I'm not making any of this up.
I went in and waited while they "filled my order". (Okay, I know jack about pharmacists, but these are prepackaged pills. Just go get the damned things and I'll be on my way.) When it was done, I went to the counter, he put the pills down and said, "That'll be $40." I must have looked a little shocked, because he asked if the price had gone up. I gave him the money, not in the mood to debate the matter, and he hesitated, looked down and said, "that doesn't even sound right." So he went back and started fiddling with the computer. He comes back and lets me know that indeed, the price of the pills without my insurance is $33.50. However, since I'm a responsible citizen of childbearing years, I'm paying out the ass every month for my quality insurance*, so the price for my birth control pills? $40. I'm actually supposed to give them $6.50 to not have children instead of just saving them from paying the expenses of pregnancy and childbirth. It's an incredible world we live in.
For those of you who need conclusions.. I ended up paying $12. He gave me a generic version, the existence of which has never once been mentioned to me before.. though to be fair, I didn't ask, either.
*Don't even get me started on the insurance industry, which doesn't pay for birth control pills but does pay for Viagra. Sure. Equality has been achieved, let's all just sit back and be happy and content. And when the male version of the bcp comes along (which is a generally horrible idea except in theory--the accountability just isn't there, and besides, men can barely remember to put the toilet seat down, much less take a pill every day, but this is a completely different subject), you can bet your ass it'll be covered by insurance. I guess this is a completely different rant, as well.
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no subject
Date: 2003-08-26 10:46 am (UTC)*I would have used the expression "absolutely no fucking reason" but somehow the subject seemed to make it inappropriate. Or appropriate, I'm not sure.
no subject
Date: 2003-08-28 09:17 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-08-26 12:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-08-28 09:18 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-08-26 03:22 pm (UTC)Now I'm off them. Hate them. And I feel SO much better. I'm ME again! *LOL*
no subject
Date: 2003-08-28 09:21 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-08-28 03:57 pm (UTC)Life's easier on them, that's for sure.
no subject
Date: 2003-09-03 12:41 pm (UTC)