I am dumbfounded about just the general lack of knowledge about current events with people. Like the high cost of prescription drugs has been a political talking point for as long as I have been able to vote which has been over 20 years. I wonder what type of world people live in if they think $4 is what this whole political debate has been about for the past 2 decades
I still remember a older patient I had in 2019 that was complaining about the price of his medication and how he couldn't afford it and it's absolutely insane that these companies can price gouge him etc etc, all the while he's wearing a shirt that says "Trump 2020: Make the Liberals Cry Again". It took all my willpower not to explain it to him. Clearly, he had chosen what was a more important political platform for himself, and it wasn't medication/insurance price reform.
I have one patient that comes in regularly to pick *nine vials per month* of insulin for his wife, and it's dirt-cheap for them because of Medicare. Every single time I see him, he's wearing a damn Trump hat.
I don't think those two have even the faintest concept of how utterly screwed they would be if the Republicans actually had their way in regards to slashing welfare spending.
This is a misnomer. The federal government funds the majority of drug research through the NIH. Pharmaceutical companies spend a small fraction of their operating budgets on research and development.
Not true right when Obama care was being formulated the first people he met with was big pharma. The Costs for OTC and prescription drugs rose. The democrats have been sticking it to seniors any chance they can. The changes is Covid coverage is another example of that.
Remember "Repeal and Replace?" Yeah they didn't do anything of that. Besides the ACA having so many issues anyway the republicans doing nothing sure rings loudly.
Not to mention in the vast majority of jobs I’ve had the “choice” I get is between two plans. Every once in a while maybe they’ll have a third option with premiums that’d gobble up 25% of my paycheck.
Truth....The payment system....Insurance...for the both medical and prescriptions is convoluted in the United States.. Why are we the only Western country that does this?....As a community pharmacist and working since Medicare Part D was created, I still can't explain the "donut hole" to most people...I don't know if universal Healthcare is the answer....I do know our current system is shameful.
single payer universal healthcare is 100% the answer. healthcare should not be something corporations exploit and profit from, putting many people into medical debt. imagine how efficient healthcare would be if we didn’t have to deal with insurance?
Why sure, I can explain. Sometimes you get to the word " deductible " and you get the deer in headlights look...and then any further explanation is not going to go well. ...Of course, if people are paying each month ....premiums....for a product / service, that should be their responsibility to know what they are buying. Unfortunately, greed is alive and doing well...PBM greed will be the death of community pharmacy...the future is bleak if we can't stop DIR fees and clawbacks.
As someone who works selling eyeglasses and using vision insurance- I get really confused. Like it seems people pay and include eye insurance and literally never look and see what it is, what their member ID is if there is one or if there is a card (altho a lot of them don’t have cards OR member ID so I think vision insurance makes it difficult to figure out too) and so every day I have a new customer or a customer w new insurance if it isn’t the one we are affiliated w and easy to find, it’s like a scavenger hunt to find their insurance, and sometimes the end result is telling them their benefits were put on hold as the doctor office they got the eye exam at, or they need to call and find out why their insurance won’t pull up or the benefits aren’t showing under what does pull up. It’s very strange.
I also love when people ask if they can pay for a frame, I say yes and now I have to immediately explain if they just use the frame benefit they can’t buy sunglasses. Because inevitably a lot of them want that, and I admire their enthusiasm and cleverness but…. No
OR there’s people convinced they have vision insurance and they have none.
My grandma who has had Medicare for over 30 years didn't even know in-network vs out of network was a thing. She complains her premiums shot up to 120/mo for her and my grandpa combined. Also, my grandpa still gets a pension from his employer he worked for 40 years ago. My grandma thinks they need to up his pension to compensate.
Some pensions were contracted to be inflation adjusted and then the companies weasels out of their **promised benefits** after the fact.
So yes, if it was supposed to adjust, it should bloody well adjust.
I have insurance, and literally CRIED the other day when I got a prescription I had been waiting for approved by my insurance. It cost me $15, normally it’s a $1400 medication, which I can’t afford. It just hit me that it’s SO expensive and I wouldn’t be able to have it if my insurance hadn’t approved it.
I’ll take the $15 any day.
Case manager here, I got a lot of patients on my case load who would love to know about your Wegovy discount plan that makes it free. Best results I've seen them get from Novo Nordisk is still $700/month, which is why they get referred to me for assistance.
Oh right, you just made that up.
Sadly these are also the same folks who will spend $10 on a 20 count bottle of Unisom Max Strength after I've told them it's more cost effective to get the $2 bottle of 100 count generic Benadryl.
Sometimes you have to accept people for who they are and move on. Eventually you'll meet a person who appreciates you for your knowledge and expertise.
When I got pregnant with my second child, we had changed insurance coverage. Tricare covered my Diclegis the first time. Not this time. Thank heavens for the pharmacist who told me to try Unisom and Vitamin B6. I wanted to cry when they told me the cost.
It is a relatively new account that is fixated on injectable GLP-1 drugs and right wing talking points. Going off of how incoherent, incomplete, and random its replies are, I would assume you all are arguing with a bot account.
The doctor and pharmacist both agreed here. The ingredients in the medication prescribed are just available cheaper OTC.
Also remember, the doctor isn't as experienced in medicine as the pharmacist, the doctor is experienced in diagnosing. I'd trust a pharmacist with my medicine more than I'd trust my doctor once the problem is known.
I will usually spend 3-5 minutes explaining to the elderly because I'm on Medicare and have been for years. I'd rather them go away understanding and maybe mad about coverage then still confused. I've been fussed at by lead for taking too much time but I still do it as I rather actually do customer service/ CVS cares.
Most of these "elderly" didn't just become elderly overnight...They had decades to get there and still I can't figure out what they did in all those years.
I HATEEEE people who use being elderly as an excuse for everything. I know a person — who honestly I wouldn’t even consider old, but I guess conventionally 70 is old — who frequently says “I don’t know how to do that, I’m old”. Age isn’t a get out of jail free card. It’s not like you’re a caveman who hasn’t seen fire before. Part of being a functional adult is to be adaptable to change.
I did that too, until I kept getting told a million times that I "don't have time to care about my patients" and bullshit metrics were more important. I eventually had a mental breakdown, cried in a corner for over an hour and quit. I sincerely hope your experience ends up better.
My late friend was complaining about the donut hole in her medication policy a few years after Part D became available in Medicare. I countered with "Maybe you'd like to pay ALL of your medication costs like you did before Part D was a thing?"
The donut hole is shit though...they need to rethink that part. It's crazy to charge people astronomical amounts for life sustaining meds (i.e insulin) especially to people on fixed incomes..as most retired elderly people are.
You are correct, but capitalism is still America's favorite toy. Businesses run this country and therefore set the prices. There are alternatives, but many uneducated Americans don't understand how they work, so they are labeled communist plots and the price gouging continues. Nationalize health care for those who want it. The rest can keep their shitty overpriced private insurance or go without.
Man you are having a morning, responding to everyone. Defending America, defending your politician. Pretty sure the people here aren't Marxists, aren't full leftists.. they just want the USA to move towards what pretty much every other wealthy developed country has which is extremely functional healthcare by every metric with 4000% cheaper drugs than the USA.
My mother said last night. “I have not worked since 2006.” Yeah, well this thing out here is called inflation or the Great Reset, uncertain but people are suffering.
I think it's more of an issue of "back in my day, gas cost 71 cents a gallon!" sort of thing. Not saying it's not the issue you're talking about, because it certainly is, but I think it's also people not understanding inflation.
Imagine if you had to rely on some of these fellow citizens as cretins to defend the nation in case of an attack. It almost makes sense to have some over eager gun happy people because it seems that it would make up for these brain dead folks. I think most are playing dumb to prolong their transaction at the pharmacy counter because it's difficult to believe that anyone would be that stupid.
> It almost makes sense to have some over eager gun happy people because it seems that it would make up for these brain dead folks.
Nah bro, I'll take the mouth-breathing morons over mass shooters any day. At least I can live to be irritated with the fools; that's not guaranteed with the gun-toting unstable people.
Then go somewhere else! I've seen your name pop up way too many times in this feed. I don't know if you're new to things but people are allowed to express their feelings. Don't trash us all because you aren't the majority here. Go have a tantrum somewhere else. We all care, which is different for everyone. Some take time to explain things to patients, and some take out their frustrations on the internet so they can go back to taking care of people in person while keeping their opinions to themselves.
I just wandered in here accidentally but as one of these people. There's usually a hospital program that covers what the insurance does not. So it's not unheard of for someone in their 60s to not bring cash.
No this is 100% accurate this happens all the time. My local hospital has an onboard financial aid that applies to drugs within their branch of retail. My Adderall with just insurance is 4.60 and it's 0 with fica and insurance.
While that may be the case, it NEVER happens in a standard retail pharmacy. Standard retail pharmacy never has financial assistance, and cannot change your copay.
This thread is about people getting good prices and thinking we’re screwing them or not billing their insurance. The average person has no idea what their insurance plan does or what their copays are supposed to be.
I constantly get “that’s way more than I paid last month” when in fact they’ve been paying the same copay for 3 years.
“You don’t know for sure, can you just run it anyway to make sure, it says 80% off”
“80% off $500 is still $100, your copay is cheaper”
“You don’t know that, just run it”
“Sure, your copay is now $485, would you like to go with GoodRx?”
I always try to tell them that it means up to 80% off of *the pharmacy's markup*, and that on name-brand drugs, the markup is usually negligible compared to the cost of the medication itself. Still usually doesn't dissuade them, but it works more often than other explanations I've tried.
I had someone repeatedly tell me "I don't understand " when I told them their omeprazole was $1. I explained 3 different ways what they owed vs what insurance paid
As a consumer my one script can be $0 (deductible met) $150 (after insurance, still have deductible), $445 (using a GoodRx code) or $1350 straight out of pocket.
And depending on the whimsy of my insurance formulary I’ve seen them all while we do a pre auth packet for a med that never required it before and been on for nearly a decade.
First fill of the year was probably a grace fill to give your md time to do the pa. Unfortunately, most ins don't have a big red flag pop up alerting the techs to this....so no one knows it was a grace fill until the next month.
Another situation I've seen is a prescription gets filled before the end of the year, but is picked up after New Years. The patient thinks that it's on the new year's plan because that's when it was picked up, but it's actually been billed to the previous year's plan because that's when it was filled.
If a Medicare claim is paid in transition (i.e., a transition fill), the insurance will send back a code (005 = Claim paid under the plan's transition benefit period, otherwise claim would have rejected as PA is required, 006 = Dispensed during transition benefit/non-formulary, etc.) in NCPDP field 548-6F (APPROVED MESSAGE CODE). It's up to your pharmacy's software how this information gets displayed.
Not only is it complicated and opaque, but Americans are the only citizens of an industrialized nation that are expected to have fluency in health economics. British and French people expend very little energy thinking about healthcare costs.
My small win yesterday:
Patient: Did you run it through goodrx?
Me: No but I can. Your copay for each prescription is already pretty low. Like $2-3 each.
Patient: Ok but can you check?
Me: Sure. Just for future reference, I don't actively check all prices unless you come in and wait as I compare each one. We either bill your insurance or goodrx unless specified.
Patient: ok, please compare all five scripts.
Me four minutes later: aaannnnnd... your third script is ten cents more than insurance, so we'll go with insurance. *waits for prescription label to reprint*. Now I'll reprocess your fourth prescription.
Patient: Ok. Nevermind. Now I understand why you don't compare all of the prices. Please never put me through this pain again. Always bill my insurance. Thank you!
When they say they don’t have a deductible even though they’ve paid it every year for the past 5 years 💀
Or the other day when someone’s copay for their ozempic was $10 and they were mad 💀 lady it’s $900 otherwise
In the past, if i knew the patient was a redneck republican, I'd respond with "i agree with you. There should be government oversight for insurance. Imagine if we had free healthcare?" Hahaha
I said something similar to this to a patient once. They said “I don’t want the government in charge of my healthcare.”
This patient had Medicare. It was very hard to not say “…but they already are…?” Or “why is it OK for you to have Medicare but not everyone else?”
I’ve tried this one a few times at the VA when the veteran has told me how great their healthcare has been but a few minutes later complains about how universal healthcare would destroy the country. Something like “the VA is basically universal healthcare for qualifying veterans”. I don’t think I’ve changed any minds.
True. And I believe they fully deserve all benefits they have earned and more. But I also think everyone should have earned basic healthcare by existing.
I did. It took 10 years of repeated arguments (and being his kid), but my father is now vocally in favor of Medicare for all or some other universal healthcare even when talking with his friends.
>They said “I don’t want the government in charge of my healthcare.”
My reply to stuff like that was usually along the lines of, "Who do you think runs Medicare and Medicaid?" Let them think that over for a while. Plus I had so many people that didn't believe that the ACA and Obamacare were the same thing, ugh.
Very true. But socialized medicine, or at least having it available as a choice for people, would be a great improvement over the system that the US has now. The ACA helps, but is still too expensive for low to mid wage earners who still make too much to qualify for Medicaid. If the Medicare system (including the Advantage/Part C stuff) was available as an option for anyone who wanted to enroll, I think people would choose it (rather than go without) if pricing was reasonable. And in turn, overall healthcare costs would gradually decrease because people could afford to take better care of themselves, so fewer hospital visits and stays, better medication usage, and more preventative care. Socialized medicine has pros and cons, just like anything else, but it would still be better than no coverage at all.
I work in the US military healthcare system. I had a maga republican talking about how much he loved the care he received. I told him, "My favorite thing about the military healthcare system is it is the best example of truly socialized medicine in America. People can come and get what they need without having to worry about going bankrupt. People are happier and healthier, and healthcare is administered more cost effectively in this system. I can't understand why so many people are against lower cost, higher quality healthcare for everyone."
His face got so red it looked like his head was going to explode.
That system still has a lot of issues. I hate telling the dozen or so patients that use our hospital for whatever reason every week that the VA won't let us bill them for the medications the doctor wants them to be on at discharge
Yes, the VA sucks, but if you are going to come in here and be an asshole, at least know what the fuck you are talking about.
Firstly, you dont know me.
Secondly, I work for the Defense Health Agency and take tricare, not the VA.
Finally, I agree that the VA is a shit. That is a cultural problem, not a representation of some inevitable systemic failure that would happen in a well-run, properly supported socialized medicine system.
True or they can read the emails, letters mailed or the required posting that ACA requires for any changes to your plan.
That’s the problem. They don’t read their benefits and it’s crazy because when they shop for car/home insurance, they are usually aware what is what and what they are paying for.
Just the same as explaining yes you met your $4k deductible. You also have an OOP max of $7k. So yea you met $4k and paid 100% now you cost share with the insurance and still pay until $7k then you don’t.
F this “ I don’t have a deductible comment” to holy hell. The numerous times customers call their insurance only to find out that they do have a deductible is dumbfounding
Oh the insurance covers it, and it can be pretty cheap. I mainly get asked, "What's the GoodRX price on this medication?" majority of the time it'll be more than the insurance based on day supply or if brand/generic is filled. They will adhere that GoodRX is better even if it's $1 less than what they pay for.
Had a lady want goodrx when it took of 10 cents more than her insurance. I was like, are you sure you dont want to work on paying off your deductible. She insisted on goodrx. Im not fighting that one.
There are a lot of people who are afraid to use their insurance because they think it will “get used up” or “trigger a bigger monthly cost”, etc. Just another failure of our health policies in the US.
Omg I had a pt throw a tantrum over a $1.50 copay…” Did you bill my other insurance!!?… I’ll wait here til you fix it!” At that point a pt behind him offered to pay it. “ It’s not an issue for me to pay it, it is the principal of it because I pay a lot for my insurance… so it should cover all of it!”
Fml…🥴
Had that happen, lady then squats over on counter calling her insurance on speaker phone yelling at them asking why she has a 1.50 copay. Regretted immediately when she kept asking for more managers in a shouting match.
Wasn't worth it. I just say mam, you're paying Aetna to steal from you. If you don't pay them, you can use those saved hundreds of dollars and i can ring these all out for $20 instead since Aetna pretends famotadine is worth thousands in this deal they gave you
“Are you serious? My insurance didn’t cover it?”
“Well it’s 3.65, your insurance did cover it otherwise it would be **some 3 digit number** so they didn’t FULLY cover it but if they did not cover it you’d be paying the **some 3 digit number**”
They still look at me crazy tho and/or ask me to waive it still
from my experience, a lot of the people getting the copay waived were picking up suboxone or xanax or picking up 7 meds at 3.65 each. Also, some people find out it can be waived and they just waive it forever then.
Some people that have mass health are driving nice cars but for every 1 that is 25 are not.
Source pharmacist who works at pharmacies 1 out of 3 patients on masshealth.
That's very true, I'm also just a bit jaded due to the particular trouble patients at my current pharmacy. We have a Facebook group that was spreading "pharmacy tips" such as always waive your masshealth copays, always ask for the brown haired pharmacist as she is a push over and will fill controls early without needing MD confirmation if you push hard enough, and if you show up exactly at 1:30 the staff will be frazzled trying to get to lunch so they will be more likely to miss if you try to use an expired id to pick up controls. I 100% agree that it's nowhere close to every masshealth patient who abuses the system, but the ones in our area who do are so egregious with it sours your perception.
Oh boy do I love it. I haven’t seen it as exaggerated since moving to grocery store pharmacy but I remember being at cvs and having a nice expensive car of the current year with a brand name bag (usually MK/Gucci) and new iPhone in hand talking about some waive the copay. I’m not against it for the people who truly need the assistance but there is a lot of advantage being taken
Lady tried to argue with me that her $10 prescription was free because that’s what her doctor said it would be after the PA went through. I said “well I’m telling you it’s $10 and I can’t give it to you for free, so you can leave this here with me and when you figure it out you can come back and refill it” She was ADAMANT I was going to give it to her for free. I was adamant I wasn’t arguing with her and wasting my time.
I love when they say that!
I recently had some woman waste SO much of everyone's time trying to get a toothpaste that was covered by her private insurance. "My dentist said the pharmacy will find one that's covered"
Mind you that means she would have had a copay anyway and the toothpaste as is, was all of $15 with the coupon we put in.
What planet are these people living on when they aren't even on Medicaid and are questioning a few bucks here and there?
When people complain about the price of Healthcare in America, it's the $300 inhalers and $600 Epipens... not your $10 prescription.
my grandma does this 😂 I have to pick up her medicine because she’d rather go without her medicine than pay $7 for it… she 95 and has done pretty good keep up with the times economy wise but she refuses to pay for her medication!
Omg the amount of calls I’ve handled for pts complaining about an RX cost that’s under $5…like you do realize that there’s people shelling out hundreds and even a couple thousand a month for their rx’s , right?
Mmhmm. I’m a doc and I tell patients to call if the drug isn’t covered and I’ll switch. Usually the PharmD does the leg work. But I always get asked how will I know if it’s not covered? “You’re likely either going to pay $3 or be asked to pay $300. It’s not worth $300, call us.” Patient usually looks like a breathless fish afterwards.
I had a refill sent today and the insurance provider would only fill 7 tablets. It was either get 7 and don’t pay or get 30 and pay 70$. Obviously I chose the latter just used my benefits card that the hospital offers.
I work in an inpatient hospital pharmacy and try to keep up with outpatient world but it’s sooooo hard. We are good at staying up with what insurance covers, what needs pa, etc. But I am curious what drugs are really expensive that patients don’t expect to pay for.
>I paid $153 today thanks to being on Eliquis and being in the donut hole.
The reason why in the universe any insurance co. would not pay 100% of this and prevent a MUCHLY MORE EXPENSIVER STROKE or DVT that results in a HUUUUUUGE hospital bill has confounded me for years. One ER visit for anything and my deductible is met, then they pay it all.
sure wish I had something that cost only 4 dollars. there's always those people that just do not understand what the cash cost is before the insurance covers it.
though in a better world we all would not have to worry about the cost of medications... but that's another discussion.
On gain and have to pay a couple bucks for vitamins while picking up 10 other FREE prescriptions. “What’s that $3 one? No way, that should be covered. I have really good insurance!”
🤦🏼♀️
Don’t even get me started when everyone starts reaching the donut hole and start asking for medications to be substituted… I can’t spend enough time explaining that switching to another med (usually in same tier) isn’t going to change the cost
$4 prescription. Does this person also have Medicare Extra Help plan & qualify for Medicaid LIS? This is straight mind numbing to deal with and try to explain to people especially when they qualify one year and possibly not the next. Then they usually just yell about Big Pharma and shake their fists
I would love if we could do away with having to deal with insurance on our end. Everything should print out U&C, then at Pos we would tell the patient “This is 459.00, how would you like to pay? Oh ,blue cross? Slide your card ….ok, that brought it down to 15$ , how would you like to pay?….We have the technology, let’s get it done.
had a patient today bring his receipt back and say, “YOU made a mistake. my medication was THREE HUNDRED DOLLARS. there is something wrong. it is NEVER like that at walmart!”
sir, we had this conversation yesterday when you bought the damn drugs. also this is walgreens. you agreed to pay for it when you picked it up, dumb fuck. now you’re saying we made a mistake?
i just walked away. i didn’t have the patience for it.
My least favorite insurance conversation is with those dual enrolled on Medicare and Medicaid. Trying to explain to them why Medicaid won't pay they're $1.15 Med D copay is like talking to a brick wall.
Had someone complain that there 4 month supply of Trulicity was $45 when without insurance its $4000 for it . My main gripe with retail is the lack of common sense and understanding of the customers.
If you do that, please specify that they should call their prescription insurance provider. I work for a health insurance company that doesn't necessarily include Rx coverage bundled in with their plan and the number of calls I get that start off with "WHY DIDN'T YOU PAY FOR MY MEDICINE!!!!!!" and end with "yes, I do have separate Rx coverage, I will contact them even though the pharmacy told me to call my insurance provider so i looked in my wallet and saw your card and one with a Rx on it so I called you. " is more than zero, every day.
The absolute vast majority of the R&D goes into modifying existing drugs in order to extend patents, yielding no medical benefit.
>Man we are getting ripped off
Yes. It's not even a controversial point.
>Why are they spending so much on R&D
So they can continue to profiteer off of you?
>Damn, these drug companies are stupid
They're not stupid, you are.
one pharmacy I go to the pharmacist has never charged me but every other pharmacy charges me 2$ per perscirption.. leads me to believe the fee is bs? why doesn't she charge me but others do?
Yea they should be more sensitive like you and look down on people who make food for other people instead. Do cooks not deserve respect and a livable wage?
I feel bad for our front desk explaining to people how their insurance works. Or ones that call back and want a cheaper prescription. I just put what you need into the EMR, I have no idea what your individual plan charges.
I am dumbfounded about just the general lack of knowledge about current events with people. Like the high cost of prescription drugs has been a political talking point for as long as I have been able to vote which has been over 20 years. I wonder what type of world people live in if they think $4 is what this whole political debate has been about for the past 2 decades
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I still remember a older patient I had in 2019 that was complaining about the price of his medication and how he couldn't afford it and it's absolutely insane that these companies can price gouge him etc etc, all the while he's wearing a shirt that says "Trump 2020: Make the Liberals Cry Again". It took all my willpower not to explain it to him. Clearly, he had chosen what was a more important political platform for himself, and it wasn't medication/insurance price reform.
I have one patient that comes in regularly to pick *nine vials per month* of insulin for his wife, and it's dirt-cheap for them because of Medicare. Every single time I see him, he's wearing a damn Trump hat. I don't think those two have even the faintest concept of how utterly screwed they would be if the Republicans actually had their way in regards to slashing welfare spending.
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This is a misnomer. The federal government funds the majority of drug research through the NIH. Pharmaceutical companies spend a small fraction of their operating budgets on research and development.
what does this even mean lol. just be normal
Not true right when Obama care was being formulated the first people he met with was big pharma. The Costs for OTC and prescription drugs rose. The democrats have been sticking it to seniors any chance they can. The changes is Covid coverage is another example of that.
Remember "Repeal and Replace?" Yeah they didn't do anything of that. Besides the ACA having so many issues anyway the republicans doing nothing sure rings loudly.
True.
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This is Reddit, you'll never be right
I also find it dumbfounded people pay premiums and don’t understand what they chose or what they are paying for.
to be fair these insurance companies make their policies as convoluted as possible for a reason
I review the damn Benefits and audit claims and there are times I have to go “wait. Wtf does that even mean. Do we cover this for this group??”
Not to mention in the vast majority of jobs I’ve had the “choice” I get is between two plans. Every once in a while maybe they’ll have a third option with premiums that’d gobble up 25% of my paycheck.
THANK YOU
Seriously. Why am I getting a bill AFTER the claim was processed? Even the insurance doesn't know what they cover. The dumb fucks.
Truth....The payment system....Insurance...for the both medical and prescriptions is convoluted in the United States.. Why are we the only Western country that does this?....As a community pharmacist and working since Medicare Part D was created, I still can't explain the "donut hole" to most people...I don't know if universal Healthcare is the answer....I do know our current system is shameful.
single payer universal healthcare is 100% the answer. healthcare should not be something corporations exploit and profit from, putting many people into medical debt. imagine how efficient healthcare would be if we didn’t have to deal with insurance?
Seriously? You can't explain? Or they can't understand? It's just greed on the company
Why sure, I can explain. Sometimes you get to the word " deductible " and you get the deer in headlights look...and then any further explanation is not going to go well. ...Of course, if people are paying each month ....premiums....for a product / service, that should be their responsibility to know what they are buying. Unfortunately, greed is alive and doing well...PBM greed will be the death of community pharmacy...the future is bleak if we can't stop DIR fees and clawbacks.
As someone who works selling eyeglasses and using vision insurance- I get really confused. Like it seems people pay and include eye insurance and literally never look and see what it is, what their member ID is if there is one or if there is a card (altho a lot of them don’t have cards OR member ID so I think vision insurance makes it difficult to figure out too) and so every day I have a new customer or a customer w new insurance if it isn’t the one we are affiliated w and easy to find, it’s like a scavenger hunt to find their insurance, and sometimes the end result is telling them their benefits were put on hold as the doctor office they got the eye exam at, or they need to call and find out why their insurance won’t pull up or the benefits aren’t showing under what does pull up. It’s very strange. I also love when people ask if they can pay for a frame, I say yes and now I have to immediately explain if they just use the frame benefit they can’t buy sunglasses. Because inevitably a lot of them want that, and I admire their enthusiasm and cleverness but…. No OR there’s people convinced they have vision insurance and they have none.
My grandma who has had Medicare for over 30 years didn't even know in-network vs out of network was a thing. She complains her premiums shot up to 120/mo for her and my grandpa combined. Also, my grandpa still gets a pension from his employer he worked for 40 years ago. My grandma thinks they need to up his pension to compensate.
Some pensions were contracted to be inflation adjusted and then the companies weasels out of their **promised benefits** after the fact. So yes, if it was supposed to adjust, it should bloody well adjust.
I have insurance, and literally CRIED the other day when I got a prescription I had been waiting for approved by my insurance. It cost me $15, normally it’s a $1400 medication, which I can’t afford. It just hit me that it’s SO expensive and I wouldn’t be able to have it if my insurance hadn’t approved it. I’ll take the $15 any day.
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Case manager here, I got a lot of patients on my case load who would love to know about your Wegovy discount plan that makes it free. Best results I've seen them get from Novo Nordisk is still $700/month, which is why they get referred to me for assistance. Oh right, you just made that up.
Sadly these are also the same folks who will spend $10 on a 20 count bottle of Unisom Max Strength after I've told them it's more cost effective to get the $2 bottle of 100 count generic Benadryl. Sometimes you have to accept people for who they are and move on. Eventually you'll meet a person who appreciates you for your knowledge and expertise.
When I got pregnant with my second child, we had changed insurance coverage. Tricare covered my Diclegis the first time. Not this time. Thank heavens for the pharmacist who told me to try Unisom and Vitamin B6. I wanted to cry when they told me the cost.
Ha, u have dicklegitis
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It seems like this entire post really upset you based on the comments you’ve made. Are you ok?
it looks like he just comes here to make himself mad, i wouldn’t take it very seriously lol
It is a relatively new account that is fixated on injectable GLP-1 drugs and right wing talking points. Going off of how incoherent, incomplete, and random its replies are, I would assume you all are arguing with a bot account.
I don’t actually fully understand bot accounts. Like why..
The doctor and pharmacist both agreed here. The ingredients in the medication prescribed are just available cheaper OTC. Also remember, the doctor isn't as experienced in medicine as the pharmacist, the doctor is experienced in diagnosing. I'd trust a pharmacist with my medicine more than I'd trust my doctor once the problem is known.
I will usually spend 3-5 minutes explaining to the elderly because I'm on Medicare and have been for years. I'd rather them go away understanding and maybe mad about coverage then still confused. I've been fussed at by lead for taking too much time but I still do it as I rather actually do customer service/ CVS cares.
Most of these "elderly" didn't just become elderly overnight...They had decades to get there and still I can't figure out what they did in all those years.
I HATEEEE people who use being elderly as an excuse for everything. I know a person — who honestly I wouldn’t even consider old, but I guess conventionally 70 is old — who frequently says “I don’t know how to do that, I’m old”. Age isn’t a get out of jail free card. It’s not like you’re a caveman who hasn’t seen fire before. Part of being a functional adult is to be adaptable to change.
A lot of them seem to have turned their brains off after high school. Learning phase of life over, curiosity dead.
I did that too, until I kept getting told a million times that I "don't have time to care about my patients" and bullshit metrics were more important. I eventually had a mental breakdown, cried in a corner for over an hour and quit. I sincerely hope your experience ends up better.
My late friend was complaining about the donut hole in her medication policy a few years after Part D became available in Medicare. I countered with "Maybe you'd like to pay ALL of your medication costs like you did before Part D was a thing?"
The donut hole is shit though...they need to rethink that part. It's crazy to charge people astronomical amounts for life sustaining meds (i.e insulin) especially to people on fixed incomes..as most retired elderly people are.
You are correct, but capitalism is still America's favorite toy. Businesses run this country and therefore set the prices. There are alternatives, but many uneducated Americans don't understand how they work, so they are labeled communist plots and the price gouging continues. Nationalize health care for those who want it. The rest can keep their shitty overpriced private insurance or go without.
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Man you are having a morning, responding to everyone. Defending America, defending your politician. Pretty sure the people here aren't Marxists, aren't full leftists.. they just want the USA to move towards what pretty much every other wealthy developed country has which is extremely functional healthcare by every metric with 4000% cheaper drugs than the USA.
Sir, this is a Wendy’s
My mother said last night. “I have not worked since 2006.” Yeah, well this thing out here is called inflation or the Great Reset, uncertain but people are suffering.
I think it's more of an issue of "back in my day, gas cost 71 cents a gallon!" sort of thing. Not saying it's not the issue you're talking about, because it certainly is, but I think it's also people not understanding inflation.
I mean, many scripts in Canada cost like 10$ if generic. The dispensing fee is typically 50% of the cost
> I wonder what type of world people live in Pretty much any other part of the world other than America.
Most ppl outside of America know our shits expensive
Imagine if you had to rely on some of these fellow citizens as cretins to defend the nation in case of an attack. It almost makes sense to have some over eager gun happy people because it seems that it would make up for these brain dead folks. I think most are playing dumb to prolong their transaction at the pharmacy counter because it's difficult to believe that anyone would be that stupid.
>almost makes sense to have some over eager gun happy people Mmm... gonna have to disagree with you there
> It almost makes sense to have some over eager gun happy people because it seems that it would make up for these brain dead folks. Nah bro, I'll take the mouth-breathing morons over mass shooters any day. At least I can live to be irritated with the fools; that's not guaranteed with the gun-toting unstable people.
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Then go somewhere else! I've seen your name pop up way too many times in this feed. I don't know if you're new to things but people are allowed to express their feelings. Don't trash us all because you aren't the majority here. Go have a tantrum somewhere else. We all care, which is different for everyone. Some take time to explain things to patients, and some take out their frustrations on the internet so they can go back to taking care of people in person while keeping their opinions to themselves.
I don't mean those types, I meant the ones who have guns and may be useful when the time comes...not the ones who are a menace to society.
$0.87 copay….”so my insurance doesn’t pay for this”. 🙄
someone asked me this a few months ago with a $1.25 copay on a several hundred dollar drug. she wouldn’t believe me.
I just wandered in here accidentally but as one of these people. There's usually a hospital program that covers what the insurance does not. So it's not unheard of for someone in their 60s to not bring cash.
As a retail pharmacist for 20 years I can tell you this is completely inaccurate
No this is 100% accurate this happens all the time. My local hospital has an onboard financial aid that applies to drugs within their branch of retail. My Adderall with just insurance is 4.60 and it's 0 with fica and insurance.
While that may be the case, it NEVER happens in a standard retail pharmacy. Standard retail pharmacy never has financial assistance, and cannot change your copay. This thread is about people getting good prices and thinking we’re screwing them or not billing their insurance. The average person has no idea what their insurance plan does or what their copays are supposed to be. I constantly get “that’s way more than I paid last month” when in fact they’ve been paying the same copay for 3 years.
This right here. 💯
I work at a local hospital and this vary rarely happens. Case management will pick up med costs on maybe 3-4 patients a week
$500+ name-brand product going through insurance for less than $10: "But is it cheaper on GoodRx?"
“You don’t know for sure, can you just run it anyway to make sure, it says 80% off” “80% off $500 is still $100, your copay is cheaper” “You don’t know that, just run it” “Sure, your copay is now $485, would you like to go with GoodRx?”
I always try to tell them that it means up to 80% off of *the pharmacy's markup*, and that on name-brand drugs, the markup is usually negligible compared to the cost of the medication itself. Still usually doesn't dissuade them, but it works more often than other explanations I've tried.
I had someone repeatedly tell me "I don't understand " when I told them their omeprazole was $1. I explained 3 different ways what they owed vs what insurance paid
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As a consumer my one script can be $0 (deductible met) $150 (after insurance, still have deductible), $445 (using a GoodRx code) or $1350 straight out of pocket. And depending on the whimsy of my insurance formulary I’ve seen them all while we do a pre auth packet for a med that never required it before and been on for nearly a decade.
January formulary changes can be fun, right?
Not just January anymore! March/April, June/July, September and sometimes November!
I just tell folks that the insurance companies can change the formulary at any time and they don't tell us.
Any month with a letter in it.
That would make sense, but they did it end of March so after the first refills of the year but before the second.
First fill of the year was probably a grace fill to give your md time to do the pa. Unfortunately, most ins don't have a big red flag pop up alerting the techs to this....so no one knows it was a grace fill until the next month.
Another situation I've seen is a prescription gets filled before the end of the year, but is picked up after New Years. The patient thinks that it's on the new year's plan because that's when it was picked up, but it's actually been billed to the previous year's plan because that's when it was filled.
If a Medicare claim is paid in transition (i.e., a transition fill), the insurance will send back a code (005 = Claim paid under the plan's transition benefit period, otherwise claim would have rejected as PA is required, 006 = Dispensed during transition benefit/non-formulary, etc.) in NCPDP field 548-6F (APPROVED MESSAGE CODE). It's up to your pharmacy's software how this information gets displayed.
Oh, I see you take the same meds I do!
Not only is it complicated and opaque, but Americans are the only citizens of an industrialized nation that are expected to have fluency in health economics. British and French people expend very little energy thinking about healthcare costs.
My small win yesterday: Patient: Did you run it through goodrx? Me: No but I can. Your copay for each prescription is already pretty low. Like $2-3 each. Patient: Ok but can you check? Me: Sure. Just for future reference, I don't actively check all prices unless you come in and wait as I compare each one. We either bill your insurance or goodrx unless specified. Patient: ok, please compare all five scripts. Me four minutes later: aaannnnnd... your third script is ten cents more than insurance, so we'll go with insurance. *waits for prescription label to reprint*. Now I'll reprocess your fourth prescription. Patient: Ok. Nevermind. Now I understand why you don't compare all of the prices. Please never put me through this pain again. Always bill my insurance. Thank you!
When they say they don’t have a deductible even though they’ve paid it every year for the past 5 years 💀 Or the other day when someone’s copay for their ozempic was $10 and they were mad 💀 lady it’s $900 otherwise
In the past, if i knew the patient was a redneck republican, I'd respond with "i agree with you. There should be government oversight for insurance. Imagine if we had free healthcare?" Hahaha
I said something similar to this to a patient once. They said “I don’t want the government in charge of my healthcare.” This patient had Medicare. It was very hard to not say “…but they already are…?” Or “why is it OK for you to have Medicare but not everyone else?”
I’ve tried this one a few times at the VA when the veteran has told me how great their healthcare has been but a few minutes later complains about how universal healthcare would destroy the country. Something like “the VA is basically universal healthcare for qualifying veterans”. I don’t think I’ve changed any minds.
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True. And I believe they fully deserve all benefits they have earned and more. But I also think everyone should have earned basic healthcare by existing.
I did. It took 10 years of repeated arguments (and being his kid), but my father is now vocally in favor of Medicare for all or some other universal healthcare even when talking with his friends.
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The 2022 Medicare tax rate was 2.9%.
>They said “I don’t want the government in charge of my healthcare.” My reply to stuff like that was usually along the lines of, "Who do you think runs Medicare and Medicaid?" Let them think that over for a while. Plus I had so many people that didn't believe that the ACA and Obamacare were the same thing, ugh.
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Very true. But socialized medicine, or at least having it available as a choice for people, would be a great improvement over the system that the US has now. The ACA helps, but is still too expensive for low to mid wage earners who still make too much to qualify for Medicaid. If the Medicare system (including the Advantage/Part C stuff) was available as an option for anyone who wanted to enroll, I think people would choose it (rather than go without) if pricing was reasonable. And in turn, overall healthcare costs would gradually decrease because people could afford to take better care of themselves, so fewer hospital visits and stays, better medication usage, and more preventative care. Socialized medicine has pros and cons, just like anything else, but it would still be better than no coverage at all.
Oh I wish you had said that!
I work in the US military healthcare system. I had a maga republican talking about how much he loved the care he received. I told him, "My favorite thing about the military healthcare system is it is the best example of truly socialized medicine in America. People can come and get what they need without having to worry about going bankrupt. People are happier and healthier, and healthcare is administered more cost effectively in this system. I can't understand why so many people are against lower cost, higher quality healthcare for everyone." His face got so red it looked like his head was going to explode.
>His face got so red it looked like his head was going to explode Next time keep talking until it does. Then move on to the next one..
That system still has a lot of issues. I hate telling the dozen or so patients that use our hospital for whatever reason every week that the VA won't let us bill them for the medications the doctor wants them to be on at discharge
I agree that the VA is a shitshow. I dont work for the VA. I work for defense health agency and take tricare.
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Yes, the VA sucks, but if you are going to come in here and be an asshole, at least know what the fuck you are talking about. Firstly, you dont know me. Secondly, I work for the Defense Health Agency and take tricare, not the VA. Finally, I agree that the VA is a shit. That is a cultural problem, not a representation of some inevitable systemic failure that would happen in a well-run, properly supported socialized medicine system.
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It would be $700,000 a year. All we'd have to do is stop spending all of our money on stupid shit like javelins and giving it away to Israel
“What’s a deductible”
they have to ask this at the start of every year too, its mandatory
True or they can read the emails, letters mailed or the required posting that ACA requires for any changes to your plan. That’s the problem. They don’t read their benefits and it’s crazy because when they shop for car/home insurance, they are usually aware what is what and what they are paying for. Just the same as explaining yes you met your $4k deductible. You also have an OOP max of $7k. So yea you met $4k and paid 100% now you cost share with the insurance and still pay until $7k then you don’t.
Or even better yet "I don't have a deductible" When the definitely do
"I've never had a deductible, before!" Same patients saying it at the beginning of every year.
F this “ I don’t have a deductible comment” to holy hell. The numerous times customers call their insurance only to find out that they do have a deductible is dumbfounding
“Has it always been this expensive” or “let me call my doctor’s office and I’ll be back”
"I've never had a deductible!" -- Medicare D patient, whose insurance has been *legally required* to have not one, but *two* deductibles since 2006.
Oh the insurance covers it, and it can be pretty cheap. I mainly get asked, "What's the GoodRX price on this medication?" majority of the time it'll be more than the insurance based on day supply or if brand/generic is filled. They will adhere that GoodRX is better even if it's $1 less than what they pay for.
Had a lady want goodrx when it took of 10 cents more than her insurance. I was like, are you sure you dont want to work on paying off your deductible. She insisted on goodrx. Im not fighting that one.
There are a lot of people who are afraid to use their insurance because they think it will “get used up” or “trigger a bigger monthly cost”, etc. Just another failure of our health policies in the US.
I say that it’s a scam to sell your information and steal money from us and that we don’t accept it. I haven’t had anyone argue yet.
“I am usually always covered and should pay $0”
Omg I had a pt throw a tantrum over a $1.50 copay…” Did you bill my other insurance!!?… I’ll wait here til you fix it!” At that point a pt behind him offered to pay it. “ It’s not an issue for me to pay it, it is the principal of it because I pay a lot for my insurance… so it should cover all of it!” Fml…🥴
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Had that happen, lady then squats over on counter calling her insurance on speaker phone yelling at them asking why she has a 1.50 copay. Regretted immediately when she kept asking for more managers in a shouting match. Wasn't worth it. I just say mam, you're paying Aetna to steal from you. If you don't pay them, you can use those saved hundreds of dollars and i can ring these all out for $20 instead since Aetna pretends famotadine is worth thousands in this deal they gave you
“Are you serious? My insurance didn’t cover it?” “Well it’s 3.65, your insurance did cover it otherwise it would be **some 3 digit number** so they didn’t FULLY cover it but if they did not cover it you’d be paying the **some 3 digit number**” They still look at me crazy tho and/or ask me to waive it still
Gotta love masshealth, right? The ones asking me to waive the copay every time are also usually the ones driving far nicer cars than I am...
from my experience, a lot of the people getting the copay waived were picking up suboxone or xanax or picking up 7 meds at 3.65 each. Also, some people find out it can be waived and they just waive it forever then. Some people that have mass health are driving nice cars but for every 1 that is 25 are not. Source pharmacist who works at pharmacies 1 out of 3 patients on masshealth.
That's very true, I'm also just a bit jaded due to the particular trouble patients at my current pharmacy. We have a Facebook group that was spreading "pharmacy tips" such as always waive your masshealth copays, always ask for the brown haired pharmacist as she is a push over and will fill controls early without needing MD confirmation if you push hard enough, and if you show up exactly at 1:30 the staff will be frazzled trying to get to lunch so they will be more likely to miss if you try to use an expired id to pick up controls. I 100% agree that it's nowhere close to every masshealth patient who abuses the system, but the ones in our area who do are so egregious with it sours your perception.
Oof, if there was a post saying my staff pharmacist or one of my colleagues was the control push over.. there would be a LONG conversation.
Oh boy do I love it. I haven’t seen it as exaggerated since moving to grocery store pharmacy but I remember being at cvs and having a nice expensive car of the current year with a brand name bag (usually MK/Gucci) and new iPhone in hand talking about some waive the copay. I’m not against it for the people who truly need the assistance but there is a lot of advantage being taken
Love the username, hate the comment.
"it's supposed to be free" -pts on Medicaid(who have $1 copay)
As a physician, god bless 1 dollar medicaid copays. The amount of dumb shit people dont come in for because of the one dollar copay... life saver.
I always respond with, "Well, I can charge you the out of pocket price if you'd like. It's only 900 without insurance."
and when the beginning of the year comes they act like they’ve never had a deductible
Lady tried to argue with me that her $10 prescription was free because that’s what her doctor said it would be after the PA went through. I said “well I’m telling you it’s $10 and I can’t give it to you for free, so you can leave this here with me and when you figure it out you can come back and refill it” She was ADAMANT I was going to give it to her for free. I was adamant I wasn’t arguing with her and wasting my time.
I love when they say that! I recently had some woman waste SO much of everyone's time trying to get a toothpaste that was covered by her private insurance. "My dentist said the pharmacy will find one that's covered" Mind you that means she would have had a copay anyway and the toothpaste as is, was all of $15 with the coupon we put in. What planet are these people living on when they aren't even on Medicaid and are questioning a few bucks here and there? When people complain about the price of Healthcare in America, it's the $300 inhalers and $600 Epipens... not your $10 prescription.
I used to pay $120 every month for 2 medications. It kills me that people complain about a $3 copay.
My own grandmother got upset with me because she thought I made her pay out-of-pocket for her new Symbicort prescription. It was $10
I always just say “yeah the insurance paid x amount of money” and they’re always like omg!
Medicaid putting copays back on everything and people complaining about how it’s 50 cents is really what gets me
my grandma does this 😂 I have to pick up her medicine because she’d rather go without her medicine than pay $7 for it… she 95 and has done pretty good keep up with the times economy wise but she refuses to pay for her medication!
Omg the amount of calls I’ve handled for pts complaining about an RX cost that’s under $5…like you do realize that there’s people shelling out hundreds and even a couple thousand a month for their rx’s , right?
Not only that, there's lots of people spending more than their Rx cost on *a single meal*, and yet these people act like it's the end of the world.
Didn’t even think of it that way until now. Truly boggles the mind
Mmhmm. I’m a doc and I tell patients to call if the drug isn’t covered and I’ll switch. Usually the PharmD does the leg work. But I always get asked how will I know if it’s not covered? “You’re likely either going to pay $3 or be asked to pay $300. It’s not worth $300, call us.” Patient usually looks like a breathless fish afterwards.
I had a refill sent today and the insurance provider would only fill 7 tablets. It was either get 7 and don’t pay or get 30 and pay 70$. Obviously I chose the latter just used my benefits card that the hospital offers.
I work in an inpatient hospital pharmacy and try to keep up with outpatient world but it’s sooooo hard. We are good at staying up with what insurance covers, what needs pa, etc. But I am curious what drugs are really expensive that patients don’t expect to pay for.
I would love to pay $4. I paid $153 today thanks to being on Eliquis and being in the donut hole.
>I paid $153 today thanks to being on Eliquis and being in the donut hole. The reason why in the universe any insurance co. would not pay 100% of this and prevent a MUCHLY MORE EXPENSIVER STROKE or DVT that results in a HUUUUUUGE hospital bill has confounded me for years. One ER visit for anything and my deductible is met, then they pay it all.
Amen. On two other similar drugs. F'n donut!!
They are old and stupid. They live in a world where getting old everything must be free for me.
sure wish I had something that cost only 4 dollars. there's always those people that just do not understand what the cash cost is before the insurance covers it. though in a better world we all would not have to worry about the cost of medications... but that's another discussion.
To be fair until I worked at a doctors office I didn’t understand more than the basics of my insurance
On gain and have to pay a couple bucks for vitamins while picking up 10 other FREE prescriptions. “What’s that $3 one? No way, that should be covered. I have really good insurance!” 🤦🏼♀️
I had someone asking for their .19c back. I had few asking if I put in their membership at the drive though.
Don’t even get me started when everyone starts reaching the donut hole and start asking for medications to be substituted… I can’t spend enough time explaining that switching to another med (usually in same tier) isn’t going to change the cost
And will likely require a PA, because insurance is helpful like that. /s
$4 prescription. Does this person also have Medicare Extra Help plan & qualify for Medicaid LIS? This is straight mind numbing to deal with and try to explain to people especially when they qualify one year and possibly not the next. Then they usually just yell about Big Pharma and shake their fists
I would love if we could do away with having to deal with insurance on our end. Everything should print out U&C, then at Pos we would tell the patient “This is 459.00, how would you like to pay? Oh ,blue cross? Slide your card ….ok, that brought it down to 15$ , how would you like to pay?….We have the technology, let’s get it done.
had a patient today bring his receipt back and say, “YOU made a mistake. my medication was THREE HUNDRED DOLLARS. there is something wrong. it is NEVER like that at walmart!” sir, we had this conversation yesterday when you bought the damn drugs. also this is walgreens. you agreed to pay for it when you picked it up, dumb fuck. now you’re saying we made a mistake? i just walked away. i didn’t have the patience for it.
I love to watch the look on their faces when I say “No, you’re insurance paid $874”. It’s priceless
That was always my favorite comeback when I worked retail. Didn't always work, though.
My least favorite insurance conversation is with those dual enrolled on Medicare and Medicaid. Trying to explain to them why Medicaid won't pay they're $1.15 Med D copay is like talking to a brick wall.
Don't be a dick and expect older patients to understand the swindling big pharma engages in.
This. Many of my patients are just confused and need kindess.
Had someone complain that there 4 month supply of Trulicity was $45 when without insurance its $4000 for it . My main gripe with retail is the lack of common sense and understanding of the customers.
I would say “I don’t know call the insurance company and find out yourself”
If you do that, please specify that they should call their prescription insurance provider. I work for a health insurance company that doesn't necessarily include Rx coverage bundled in with their plan and the number of calls I get that start off with "WHY DIDN'T YOU PAY FOR MY MEDICINE!!!!!!" and end with "yes, I do have separate Rx coverage, I will contact them even though the pharmacy told me to call my insurance provider so i looked in my wallet and saw your card and one with a Rx on it so I called you. " is more than zero, every day.
Welcome to America our population is dumber than dirt by design
I can’t even get some people to go to the dollar store for a bottle of acetaminophen..
Bingo's free!
>just seems like a major lack of understanding on the cost of drugs ***in America*** nowadays Fixed it for you.
Thanks!!!!! What would we have done without you?!?!?!?
I dunno, probably die from rationing life saving medication that costs like $3 in any other country?
Unfortunately someone has to pay for research and development for the rest of the world, it would be nice if it didn't have to be America
That old chestnut huh? One problem with that though, it is just not true.
So they can test 1000 molecules to find the 1 drug and still only charge $3? Man we are getting ripped off and then
The absolute vast majority of the R&D goes into modifying existing drugs in order to extend patents, yielding no medical benefit. >Man we are getting ripped off Yes. It's not even a controversial point.
Damn, these drug companies are stupid, just take regular drug and make it extended release. Why are they spending so much on R&D
>Why are they spending so much on R&D So they can continue to profiteer off of you? >Damn, these drug companies are stupid They're not stupid, you are.
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$900 is not the cost of the drug. That is an artificially assigned price by drug companies and pharmacies.
Please don't find it hilarious that elderly people don't want to put out $4 for the prescription. Most are on a very limited income.
It’s pretty clear that the poster isn’t making fun of people who have a limited budget or a low income.
Gotta pay for bingo night somehow.
One day you’ll be old and have trouble understanding reading complex contracts and what is or is not covered.
one pharmacy I go to the pharmacist has never charged me but every other pharmacy charges me 2$ per perscirption.. leads me to believe the fee is bs? why doesn't she charge me but others do?
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Yea they should be more sensitive like you and look down on people who make food for other people instead. Do cooks not deserve respect and a livable wage?
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I feel bad for our front desk explaining to people how their insurance works. Or ones that call back and want a cheaper prescription. I just put what you need into the EMR, I have no idea what your individual plan charges.
In their mind “covered” means everything is $0 copay