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+--- Thread: Reverse SCORE! Maybe... (/showthread.php?tid=215459)
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Reverse SCORE! Maybe... - Buzz - 04-11-2018
Hoping I don't jinx it... but have been getting meds via the mail order option pursuant to our health insurance co's strong suggestions over the years. As long as spousal unit keeps flying, I will continue to opt out of medicare since the prescription benefit alone highly favors the private insurance, so gotta kowtow to their directives. Anyhow, the mail order unit tends to find the cheapest sources for meds, and occasionally they get some real klunkers. Finally, for the first time I can remember, they sent a batch of what used to be my second favorite generic meds. Several years back, Qualitest was merged/acquired into bigger conglomerates, but before that, they were my number two behind Watson. We'll see if their current incarnation bodes as well as their past, but after years of more disappointment than glee when opening mail order packages, it was a pleasant surprise to welcome an old friend back home.
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Re: Reverse SCORE! Maybe... - NewtonMP2100 - 04-11-2018
......yes.....drug score......!!!!
Re: Reverse SCORE! Maybe... - PeterW - 04-11-2018
Not sure how old you are or how you are eligible for Medicare, but there are penalties involved if you do not sign up for MC when you are eligible.
Re: Reverse SCORE! Maybe... - Fred_Also - 04-11-2018
Please don't take the "Score" before you post.
Fred
Re: Reverse SCORE! Maybe... - pdq - 04-11-2018
Buzz wrote:
Hoping I don't jinx it... but have been getting meds via the mail order option pursuant to our health insurance co's strong suggestions over the years.
Just curious - is it OptumRx?
Buzz wrote: Anyhow, the mail order unit tends to find the cheapest sources for meds, and occasionally they get some real klunkers.
Just dealing with that myself now. Without going into great detail, eszopiclone ("Lunesta") gave me my life back. It was expensive, but worth it, and then it went generic (yay!). But now I have to take whatever the current low-price bidder is.
A month or so ago, OptumRx sent me a bunch from a new generic supplier (out of India, FWIW). After a week or two, I realized that it wasn't working at all. OptumRx says, too bad, that's our supplier. I said, can I pay for this med from a different supplier? Nope, it's a controlled substance. Well, I'd be happy to send these back! No we don't take returns. I'm not looking for my money back, I just want an effective med. Nope. Nothing until May.
I finally managed to convince my doc and health plan of the situation, and the latter said okay, but you have to pay retail (for a different generic) - around $400, as opposed to ~$10. Which I did.
As it turns out, I'm in the unusual situation of having access to drug analysis (in process). If this generic isn't what it is supposed to be, you may hear about it on the news - I'm that PO'ed.
Re: Reverse SCORE! Maybe... - AllGold - 04-11-2018
pdq wrote:
As it turns out, I'm in the unusual situation of having access to drug analysis (in process). If this generic isn't what it is supposed to be, you may hear about it on the news - I'm that PO'ed.
Good! Give 'em hell!
Re: Reverse SCORE! Maybe... - Buzz - 04-12-2018
pdq- Yep, it's OptumRx. Sounds like you're familiar w/ the protocol. :-)
They used Mallinckrodt for awhile, then more recently it's been Amneal, now (thankfully, maybe) Qualitest (from PAR) for the main generic score. On the similar flip side, Myrbetriq is not on the formulary, which has worked well for me, but when I tried the suggested substitute (cheaper) meds that are on the formulary, I passed out and keeled over a couple of times after my IVIG infusions... still haggling w/ them over getting an exception from the formulary for the Myrbetriq... they're not making it easy.
PW- I'm enrolled in basic MC, which is hospitalization only, and opt out of everything else in favor spousal unit's employer's plan... my estimated annual medical expenses have been coming in at around $400K the last few years, w/ no hope of much abatement until death do us part. So plan on sticking w/ that as long as we can keep the old gal up in the air. I'm also eligible for some big pharma subsidies that are DQ'ed under full MC, which helps in that decision.
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Re: Reverse SCORE! Maybe... - gabester - 04-12-2018
pdq wrote:
A month or so ago, OptumRx sent me a bunch from a new generic supplier (out of India, FWIW). After a week or two, I realized that it wasn't working at all. OptumRx says, too bad, that's our supplier. I said, can I pay for this med from a different supplier? Nope, it's a controlled substance. Well, I'd be happy to send these back! No we don't take returns. I'm not looking for my money back, I just want an effective med. Nope. Nothing until May...
As it turns out, I'm in the unusual situation of having access to drug analysis (in process). If this generic isn't what it is supposed to be, you may hear about it on the news - I'm that PO'ed.
You'll have to let us know how this turns out. I'm always concerned about getting scammed - and with medications, it's so important to know you're actually getting what you're supposed to be taking!
What recourse do people have when this is the sort of roadblock thrown in their way? Complain all up and down the board to the providers, the regulators, the insurers, the media, the state attorney general and any state trade commision, the FTC, and your elected representatives if something like this turns out to be done wrong - especially if it's done willfully as a cost-saving measure. (Oh, 14% of our customers won't know they're getting a placebo instead of their actual medication, and we'll pocket 20% more revenue!)
Re: Reverse SCORE! Maybe... - pdq - 04-12-2018
Well, we’ll see. As I said, I have access to drug testing that the average schmoe doesn’t, but this particular drug is outside their usual baliwick. Maybe it comes back as labelled, and it’s just in my head. If not, the next step is finding a company for which this drug IS in their usual baliwick, and nailing down the results.
If those two things happen (and that’s a big if), I go back to the insurer and tell them their preferred mail-order pharmacy has a bad supplier and see what they say. If they blow me off (which is what I assume would happen, based on experience) maybe I can file a whistleblower lawsuit with the FDA (!). Failing that, I’ll see if I can get a local “i-team reporter” interested in a story, since the insurer is a home-town big deal.
Re: Reverse SCORE! Maybe... - macphanatic - 04-12-2018
pdq wrote:
[quote=Buzz]
Hoping I don't jinx it... but have been getting meds via the mail order option pursuant to our health insurance co's strong suggestions over the years.
Just curious - is it OptumRx?
Buzz wrote: Anyhow, the mail order unit tends to find the cheapest sources for meds, and occasionally they get some real klunkers.
Just dealing with that myself now. Without going into great detail, eszopiclone ("Lunesta") gave me my life back. It was expensive, but worth it, and then it went generic (yay!). But now I have to take whatever the current low-price bidder is.
A month or so ago, OptumRx sent me a bunch from a new generic supplier (out of India, FWIW). After a week or two, I realized that it wasn't working at all. OptumRx says, too bad, that's our supplier. I said, can I pay for this med from a different supplier? Nope, it's a controlled substance. Well, I'd be happy to send these back! No we don't take returns. I'm not looking for my money back, I just want an effective med. Nope. Nothing until May.
I finally managed to convince my doc and health plan of the situation, and the latter said okay, but you have to pay retail (for a different generic) - around $400, as opposed to ~$10. Which I did.
As it turns out, I'm in the unusual situation of having access to drug analysis (in process). If this generic isn't what it is supposed to be, you may hear about it on the news - I'm that PO'ed.
Go get them!