Convo reminded me of why we try 'alternative' meds. My Husband & I both have RX's for pain, written over 3 months ago, sitting at pharmacy, unfilled. Drs wrote after extensive convos & physicals. INSURANCE company refuses to approve 💊 for us! Pharmacy & Drs have had convos with insurance companies, but they won't budge (yet); we're having "Too much pain & need to use too often"; won't approve. 🤬 I have diagnosed Chronic Pain & mild/sev RA, Hubs has constant pain post-surgery; OTC not effective.
@IrelandTorin When I called them about the meds, they told us when we come in they'll try to see if they could change up meds to satisfy the insurance companies & that in the meantime, take whatever works to alleviate the aches.
Thing is, Dr has re-written & had prior approval to prescribe, yet after pharmacy accepts & tries to fill, denied again🤷♀️ Dr was highly upset when I called; they're investigating why this keeps happening. Not pharmacists fault; they're trying to help as well
@Gramdma2011 That really sucks.
It might also be worthwhile to check if you'd save money by using a Costco pharmacy; their prices are usually much lower than other US pharmacies (sometimes by 50%+), and there's a very good chance that the difference in price will more than offset the cost of an annual Costco membership... *especially* if you opt to go out-of-pocket [if there's a generic treatment option you can afford to do that with] due to the insurance company being scummy.
@Gramdma2011 I am a huge fan of generic drug manufacturers; their work may not be glamorous or get much attention, but I'd argue they do as much or more to reduce human suffering / save lives than companies like Pfizer, Bayer, and Eli Lilly; the best drug in the world is useless if no one can afford it.
Generic manufacturers make medication accessible... & sometimes their products (eg: generic nicotine patches from Apotex instead of the Nicorette brand ones) are actually *better* than branded.
💙
So unfair. No one should suffer in pain because some person behind the screen thinks they know better than your doctor. Also have RA, I can relate.
@Gramdma2011 I hope you both get some relief soon! I’ve lived with constant pain, it adversely affects every aspect of your life. I fought with my doctor’s PA because she wanted to put me in pain meds and I refused. She finally told me I had no choice, she was prescribing them because I was in too much pain to try anything OTC to work.
Insurance companies are just worried about getting sued, although I don’t know why since it’s the doctors who prescribe them.
@Gramdma2011 You could try looking at "what is the cheapest available generic pain medication in the same class as and with roughly equivalent strength to <insert pain med here>", then ask your doctor if they'd be willing prescribe you that instead because your insurance won't cover the other one & you can't afford it.
The benefit of that is twofold:
- Insurance company is more likely to approve it
- Even if the insurance company doesn't approve it, out-of-pocket should be relatively cheap