Sorry, but I have to vent about my mail order pharmacy!

[momof3boys]

I am seriously about to lose it with this stupid mail order pharmacy I go through! I so wish we could walk into our local pharmacy and get a 3 or 6 month supply like we use to be able to! Now, we can only get a 1 month supply at our local pharmacy, and any 3 or 6 month supply has to be ordered through a online pharmacy! :soap:

You all have probably seen my posts about trying the generic keppra xr. well, after a couple of weeks on it, i went into seizures, so i have to now go back to the brand name keppra xr.

I spoke with my drs nurse this morning and told her about the seizures, she agree'd to switch me back to the name brand. I gave her the fax number, and said to do a 6 month supply with 1 refill til my next appointment which is scheduled in august 2013.

That was this morning I did that. Noon comes about, and we had to speak with our insurance company in regards to the "30 day supply" of keppra xr that the on call dr ordered on saturday for me. turns out, it wasnt a 30 day supply, but a 30 tablet supply. Which we canceled. Why on earth would I take 30 tablets which would only last me 5 days, when I was suppose to get a 30 DAY supply to cover the 4 week process it takes for the mail in order pharmacy to fill a 6 month supply?


Anyways... this customer service rep tells my husband this after noon that we have to have our dr call in a 3 month supply, with 3 refills. NOT a 6 month with 1 refill. So I call and leave a voice mail for the nurse asking her to change that for me. Then comes tonight, and I notice Im due for a refill on my birth control pills. I get a 6 month supply of the generic (the only generic that works for me!) for $35. I go to order that, and they try to tell me yes I do have 1 refill remaining, but say instead of paying $35 like I did in June, I will be paying $171! onder: Why would I pay more for the same thing I got in June? Their customer service reps are freaking stupid! They changed it, said they had down that I would be getting "MORE" this time compared to last time i ordered it. ???? OK????

I told them I want the same thing I got back in June for my birth control, and for what I paid then.... I want the same thing now! DUH!


So that gets changed....

then as I logged onto their site, our insurance information comes up, saying we can go to any local pharmacy for a 1 month. but if we go online, we have to have a 180 day supply! HELLO!!!! thats a 6 month supply! Why would the customer service rep this afternoon tell me to change it to a 3 month supply????

I seriously cant stand these people! I so wish I could change things and go to our local pharmacy! This causes so much frustration and stress!

So guess what I had to do.... Call back the nurse, and KINDLY leave a voice mail, apologizing for the confusion with the 3 and 6 month refills for the name brand Keppra xr. ***** Talk about Embarrassing!******

I got off the phone after leaving the message, and thought to myself.... "Gosh, that nurse probably thinks Im a nut job!"


I cant beleive the online pharmacies have people there giving out different information to their customers each time they freaking call!

Sorry... I just had to get that off my chest! Im just so damn frustrated about it! Im praying this all gets figured out so I can just get the brand name here to my home so I can breath a sigh of relief!

 

[bandmom]

Sorry you're having such a hard time, I understand your frustration with mail-order pharmacies! I hope it all works out for you, and you have a better day tomorrow!

 

[momof3boys]

Thank you bandmom. I pray I do too!

 

[CQ:)]

Kristin,
That sounds totally frustrating with your all the mucking about the mail order pharmacy are doing. I'm sure your nurse will not think you are a nut job, when you left a message for her did you explain the reason you had to change the script was because of the people you get your meds from?

I have never gotten my meds online & as I said in your other thread we don't need health insurance here for our meds but it all sounds confusing to me lol.
You have said you can get a 6 month supply of meds, does that mean when you order your meds they send out enough for you to last 6 months?
How many sheets of tablets do you get in your Keppra XR?
I see on your signature you take 3000mg Keppra XR, is that 1500mg twice a day or 1000mg 3 times a day?

Sorry about the silly questions about I'm trying to get a better understanding on how it works over there lol.

 

[MuayThaiFighter]

Oh dealing with all the nurses and pharmacies and the countless phone calls! Trust me if you don't lose it after a day filled with calling receptionists, after having seizures, hats off to that person. Hopefully they get this all figured out asap.

 

[CQ:)]

As you probably know I take both Keppra (1000mg twice day) & Tegretol (200mg twice day).

On the scripts I have for my meds it has the med, the dose & the number of repeats.
Both the Keppra & Tegretol came in sheets with 10 tablets in each sheet. The Keppra has 6 sheets in the box (60 tabs all up), where the Tegretol has 20 sheets in the box (200 tabs all up).

I usually get my script for Keppra refilled every 4 weeks because I try to make sure I have at less 1 or 2 sheets left when I get the script filled in case there is a hold up. I usually have to get a new script for the Keppra every 6 months.
I used to take 400mg Tegretol twice a day but in March my neurologist I see at the epilepsy clinic reduced it to the 200mg. When I was on the 400mg dose of Tegretol I would get refilled about every 3 months. When my Neurologist halved the Tegretol I still had plenty of repeats left for the 400mg Tegretol so asked him if it would be ok to just split them. He said that would be fine so since March I have been splitting my 400mg Tegretol in half (I have a pill splitter) so it is taking me twice as long to get through (1 sheet of Tegretol lasts me 10 days) :roflmao:.

When I saw my Neurologist at the epilepsy clinic in September he gave me a new script for the 200mg Tegretol with only has 2 repeats instead of 5. I go back to the epilepsy clinic in March for my 2 years checkup with the specialists. I still have plenty of the 400mg Tegretol tablets that I am still splitting which I think will last me for another 2 -3 months. I think by the time I'm due to go back see the Neurologist in March I won't even need to get the 200mg Tegretol filled :roflmao:.

 

[CrunchyFrog]

Kristin,
That sounds totally frustrating with your all the mucking about the mail order pharmacy are doing. I'm sure your nurse will not think you are a nut job, when you left a message for her did you explain the reason you had to change the script was because of the people you get your meds from?

I have never gotten my meds online & as I said in your other thread we don't need health insurance here for our meds but it all sounds confusing to me lol.
You have said you can get a 6 month supply of meds, does that mean when you order your meds they send out enough for you to last 6 months?
How many sheets of tablets do you get in your Keppra XR?
I see on your signature you take 3000mg Keppra XR, is that 1500mg twice a day or 1000mg 3 times a day?

Sorry about the silly questions about I'm trying to get a better understanding on how it works over there lol.

I'd like to know too It's totally different compared to us. It's very confusing, Id have to say though I wish I could get a six month supply of meds, I hate going back to the GP every few months just for a script only to be back two months later. I once had a doctor tell me that she wouldn't give me anymore scripts because she didn't want to just give me medication, basically she didn't like that I had to go into see her JUST for a script and wasn't actually sick. I stopped going to her.... and my new GP doesn't seem to mind.

Hope everything gets sorted out for you, sucks that you're going through a rough time

 

[CQ:)]

I wish I could get a six month supply of meds, I hate going back to the GP every few months just for a script only to be back two months later. I once had a doctor tell me that she wouldn't give me anymore scripts because she didn't want to just give me medication, basically she didn't like that I had to go into see her JUST for a script and wasn't actually sick. I stopped going to her.... and my new GP doesn't seem to mind.

I don't get sick very often so very rarely need to see a dr.
Before my neurologists suggested I think about surgery to help with the seizures I used to go to the GP if I needed a script because it was cheaper then going to the neuro.

Since 2010 I have been through an epilepsy program at the hospital where I had my surgery so I just get a new script for any meds when I see the neurologist at the hospitals epilepsy clinic. When I had my pre surgery tests, had the surgery then at my follow up appts the specialists at the hospital send their reports to my local neuro & GP. I am part of the epilepsy program until March next year (2 years after the surgery), after that I go back to my own neurologist here.

I didn't have a GP for about a year lol. The GP I used to see before I went through the epilepsy program left the clinic early last year. I think any reports the specialists sent to the GP went to the GP who replaced him (who my parents were seeing for a while). I ended up getting a new GP early this year who is closer to where I live.
I only ever seen my current GP twice - 1st time was to introduce myself, explain about the epilepsy/surgery & let him know he would be getting reports from the specialists at the epilepsy clinic lol. The other time was in March when I had to get a new referral for the epilepsy clinic.
The GP only gave me a 12 month referral so I have to go back to him early next year just to get another referral for the epilepsy clinic, as well as one to go back to see my own neurologist here.

 

[CrunchyFrog]

Surgery isn't an option because of where my cyst is and because my seizure aren't considered serious enough to even be considered for surgery. I'm too healthy too, if I didn't need AEDs I'd never need to go to the doctor, I hardly ever get sick.

 

[Nakamova]

The docs find the whole Pharmacy/Insurance thing frustrating too. My sister-in-law is a family medicine doc, and she says it's ridiculous how much time they have to spend with with paperwork and sorting out coding. It really squeezes the amount of time they can spend with patients.

 

[momof3boys]

Kristin,
That sounds totally frustrating with your all the mucking about the mail order pharmacy are doing. I'm sure your nurse will not think you are a nut job, when you left a message for her did you explain the reason you had to change the script was because of the people you get your meds from?

I have never gotten my meds online & as I said in your other thread we don't need health insurance here for our meds but it all sounds confusing to me lol.
You have said you can get a 6 month supply of meds, does that mean when you order your meds they send out enough for you to last 6 months?
How many sheets of tablets do you get in your Keppra XR?
I see on your signature you take 3000mg Keppra XR, is that 1500mg twice a day or 1000mg 3 times a day?

Sorry about the silly questions about I'm trying to get a better understanding on how it works over there lol.

Yes I get a 6 month supply of my Keppra XR. They send them out in sealed bottles. I take 1500mgs in the am, around 8am, and 1500mgs in the pm... around 8pm. I have to keep the medication doses as close to 12 hours apart as I can, if I go longer inbetween times, I get the warning signs of a seizure.

 

[momof3boys]

some insurances let you go to your local pharmacy and pick up a 1 month, 3 month or 6 month supply. Thats the way our insurance plan worked a few years ago. Which was nice! If you had a savings card, which at the time I had, and still do... for my Keppra... I was going to our local pharmacy, and ordering a 6 month supply of Keppra... ours come in bottles, not sheets... and our insurance would charge $100 for a six month supply back then. The savings card allowed me to save $30. The customer pays the first $25, anything over that amount, the card will cover up to $30. So instead of having to pay $100, I got a 6 month supply of Keppra for $70. Which was nice! No hassel going through an online pharmacy, no messing with phone calls to and from the drs... and with the online pharmacy, they can put down what kind of medication you want, but then change it to another, like go from brand name to generic, and if you dont catch it intime, then they ship it out and you're stuck with it. THat happened to me last year with my medicaiton i use for my PCOS. I cant take the generic, i have too many side effects. So I had to always stick with name brand. Well, the stupid insurance company changed it from name brand to generic, even when the prescription clearly states "name brand only"... dispense as written" on it! They are stupid. that alone with a huge hassel to put up with!

Its times like that where I wish they would change it back to the way it was before. Going to your local pharmacy to pick up the medications, knowing you can see what it is before you pay, is what I liked. This mail order crap is useless. Only reason I use it is becuase instead of paying $40 for my keppra each month at our local pharmacy for a 1 month supply, I can get it for $25 a month through the mail order pharmacy by getting a 6 month supply. It saves me $90. Thats the only reason I do it.

 

[CQ:)]

Kristin -
Thank for explaining it, its still confusing but is starting to make some sense lol.
Do the mail order pharmacies try to give you generic meds to save money?

Over here the chemist will usually ask you if you want generic or brand name, I'm pretty sure they ask you that to help save money.
On my box of meds it has the full cost of the med (before the PBS) & then how much I pay. The full cost for my Keppra is $121 & the full cost for my Tegretol is $51.
Because I have a health care card I usually only pay $5.80 each time I get my meds filled.

With health insurance do you only have health insurance if you are working, and then does it go on the health insurance company your employers use?

 

[CQ:)]

The docs find the whole Pharmacy/Insurance thing frustrating too. My sister-in-law is a family medicine doc, and she says it's ridiculous how much time they have to spend with with paperwork and sorting out coding. It really squeezes the amount of time they can spend with patients.

I didn't realise it affected drs as well lol.
Do the drs have to get patients to sign a form when they have an appt?

With the health insurance, if a patient gos to see the dr /specialists do they just have to pay the gap & their private health covers the rest?

Over here you are able to go through a private health fund which is particularly handy if you need to go to hospital for operation as it can be done a lot quicker as a private patient then a public patient (government pays for it). A basic health fund covers the hospital & if you want the extras (optical, dental & chiropractic) it costs more.
I don't have private health insurance myself so don't know if you could use it for regular drs appts.

We have medicare which is the governments medical system. Most drs charge full price for a visit then you go to your local medicare office & take your receipt so they can give you some of the money for your visit back. The GP I see now bulk bills which means I don't pay anything for the visit & it sent through to Medicare.
When I 1st started seeing my regular Neurologist 10 years ago I was able to just pay the gap & the rest was covered by medicare (I just had to give them my medicare card to swipe & sign a slip) but they stopped that. Now when I go see my neurologist here I have to pay the full cost then I can go to Medicare to get some of the money back.

The specialists I see at the epilepsy clinic are covered by Medicare so I give the receptionist at the clinic my medicare card to swipe before the neurologist calls me in. They then give the medicare slip to the neurologist & I sign the medicare slip when I finish my appt.

 

[momof3boys]

Kristin -
Thank for explaining it, its still confusing but is starting to make some sense lol.
Do the mail order pharmacies try to give you generic meds to save money?

Over here the chemist will usually ask you if you want generic or brand name, I'm pretty sure they ask you that to help save money.
On my box of meds it has the full cost of the med (before the PBS) & then how much I pay. The full cost for my Keppra is $121 & the full cost for my Tegretol is $51.
Because I have a health care card I usually only pay $5.80 each time I get my meds filled.

With health insurance do you only have health insurance if you are working, and then does it go on the health insurance company your employers use?

Yeap. if you dont have your drs office put "Brand Name Only" Or "written as dispense" they will automatically give you the generic.

My husband has health insurance through his employer, and has a family plan that covers himself, me and the kids. Its costs us quite a bit, but its worth it compared to what I take for seizures, and PCOS... and my husband has high blood pressure, and last year found out he has a tumor on his pituatary gland thats affecting his testosterone, and now last week we found out his thyroid is low. So he;s going in next week for more testing on that.

 

[momof3boys]

As Im making supper, I go to check online to see if the prescription was sent to the online pharmacy. I dont see anything, so I give their customer service a call. Turns out, nothing so far is showing up. Now today at noon I got the voicemail saying she sent over a 6 month supply of the Name Brand Keppra XR, with one refill. the customer service rep said if she sent it today, it takes 48 hours to show up in the system, so to check back on thursday. WOW. this is crazy. It takes almost a week after I have to get back on the brand name to even get the pharmacy to get the prescription! Then an additional 4 weeks to get it processed and shipped to me. Pathetic service.

 

[Nakamova]

With the health insurance, if a patient gos to see the dr /specialists do they just have to pay the gap & their private health covers the rest?

It depends on your health plan. There are many different kinds, offering a mix of co-pays, co-insurance, deductibles and yearly maximums. If that sounds confusing, it is! My insurance costs me $500 a month. For that, some things are covered, but there are still plenty of out-of-pocket fees. It costs me $35 (co-pay) every time I see a specialist like a neurologist or physical therapist. The insurance covers whatever the rest of the specialist fee would be. With my plan, any doctors I see have to be within a limited network, otherwise I'm not covered. My medication costs me $15.00 a month, as long as it's the generic, and as long as I order it 3 months at a time online. ER visits cost me $100 a pop. There are lots of those kinds of restrictions. You almost need to consult the handbook for your particular insurance first, before deciding how sick you can afford to be...

 

[CQ:)]

It depends on your health plan. There are many different kinds, offering a mix of co-pays, co-insurance, deductibles and yearly maximums. If that sounds confusing, it is!

No not confusing at all fft:.
Let me see if I have this right - basically the amount your insurance covers & the extra benefits you can get goes on the type of plan insurance plan you have. So the higher your health insurance is the more benefits you will have?
By the way is co-pay same as a gap (your out of pocket cost)?

If I had to go to hospital via ambulance it would usually cost but I am through a private health fund for ambulance cover only. My health care card does cover ambulance cost but it's only for my state. Where my ambulance cover I am in covers any state in Australia. I hope I don't need it but it is definitely worth me having & only cost me about $50 a year to be in.

 

[momof3boys]

No not confusing at all fft:.
Let me see if I have this right - basically the amount your insurance covers & the extra benefits you can get goes on the type of plan insurance plan you have. So the higher your health insurance is the more benefits you will have?
By the way is co-pay same as a gap (your out of pocket cost)?

If I had to go to hospital via ambulance it would usually cost but I am through a private health fund for ambulance cover only. My health care card does cover ambulance cost but it's only for my state. Where my ambulance cover I am in covers any state in Australia. I hope I don't need it but it is definitely worth me having & only cost me about $50 a year to be in.

Yes the copay we have is what we have to pay out of our pocket after the insurance covers their share. A couple of hears ago we had insurance coverage where we got 100% coverage for ambulance, if needed. Now, have a co-pay of $100 if we need to call the ambulance to get us to the hospital.