It happens to all of us. You changed jobs, or the company you work for has changed their insurance company or coverage, and suddenly you don't know if your medications are covered and if they are what will you have to pay for it?
This recently happen to us. Without prior notice we received our New Prescription Cards in the mail the day before they became effective. After reading through the one included page of paper it stated that we were going to now have a deductible of $125 per patient and a minimum payment amount per prescription until we reach $1,500 for an individual or $3,750 for the family. I don't know about your family's prescriptions but for us that would be way more than we would ever fill in a year.
As I continued to read, the paper claimed that we could continue to use our independent or chain pharmacies. This was not what I was told when I finally got through to the 800 number. He informed me that, "Yes, you can use another chain pharmacy, however there is a pill limit." When I asked what the pill limit was he informed me that I could have two refill before I was charged a penalty fee for not using their pharmacy.
So my family only has three standing prescription's that we fill regularly. I wrote each of them down on a sheet of paper, leaving room to write under each. I included the name, strength, and frequency taken. Then sat down to call the customer care number on the back of the new cards. I made my way through the prompts and waited for an associate.
I told the associate who I was and that I wanted to verify cover for prescriptions for several patients. I started with my daughters Epi Pen Jr. 2pk, and so on until we had covered all of the medications. I then asked any general questions that were unclear in the paper work and I asked if we could continue to use our current pharmacy because their nearest location is over an hour away form the majority of our medical doctors.
He asked if I had any more questions. I told him not at this time, but I would call back if I did. He did inform me that I could take my standing prescription's to the local pharmacy and simply have them transferred over. That evening with new Rx cards and Id's in hand we took our current prescriptions over to the local store and had them create our accounts with our prescription information.
Here are a Few Tips:
1.) Read through included Paper Work, make notes on anything that is unclear or sounds to good to be true.
2.) Gather your Regular Prescriptions, ask if there is a generic, or if you are on the generic.
3.) Call the Customer Service Line and be prepared for prompts and to wait for an operator.
4.) Sometime answers lead to New Questions, be sure your pen and note pad are ready.
Here are a Few Tips:
1.) Read through included Paper Work, make notes on anything that is unclear or sounds to good to be true.
2.) Gather your Regular Prescriptions, ask if there is a generic, or if you are on the generic.
3.) Call the Customer Service Line and be prepared for prompts and to wait for an operator.
4.) Sometime answers lead to New Questions, be sure your pen and note pad are ready.
