Wednesday, September 4, 2013

When you pay your $2,350 co-pay for your Copaxone then we will send you your twenty dollars worth of cholesterol and blood pressure medication...



“When you pay your $2,350 co-pay for your Copaxone then we will send you your twenty dollars worth of cholesterol and blood pressure medication

When you pay your $2,350 co-pay for your Copaxone then we will send you your twenty dollars worth of cholesterol and blood pressure medication…

When you pay your $2,350 co-pay for your Copaxone then we will send you your twenty dollars worth of cholesterol and blood pressure medication…

When you pay your $2,350 co-pay for your Copaxone then we will send you your twenty dollars worth of cholesterol and blood pressure medication…” ETC… on a robo call!



Most people without knowledge of how this works would say, “Well, girl, just pay it!”

Sadly, I cannot and will not since I have fit the criteria for years for this co-pay to be paid by a third party and in previous years before becoming a once again insured gal and even so I still meet their very tight criteria and I had never seen a bill or was asked for any money what-so-ever!

It is the co-pay for my Copaxone for the Multiple Sclerosis, which is for a three month supply only, which would be $9400 in just the co-pay for the year, the medication, is over $6K a month out of pocket if I had to pay for it. Not many people could or would or should have to pay for this stuff that has kept my MS stable for the last two MRI’s and being on it now for three years!



The issue is with the specialty drug company, Accredo, who is the one handling the medication, previously it was with Walgreen’s Specialty that handled it and I never heard a word about money! I have no idea why they put me through this since I have been with them since last January. With Walgreen’s they would call when I needed it and then when it was to be delivered and that was that; with Accredo at first they only sent a months’ supply until I protested explaining we live in a hurricane area and could possibly have to evacuate and so finally they, on these last two orders, have been for three whole month’s supply!

But now this aggravation and by the time I got a person to talk to in New Mexico with Express Scripts, Ricky, he said that I had to speak with Accredo, but they called me, Express Scripts that is, I didn’t call them. He switched me over to Sharon in Tennessee with Accredo! After I waited for over a half an hour for her, as it is I had to keep pushing buttons to speak to Ricky, a live person! Who handled my wrath very nicely I might add.

All Sharon could tell me, like Ricky, is that she understood and realized why I was so upset, but that she could let them know and send them a message to take care of it and that they should get back to me.

But no time frame was given and I am more than sure I will have to call tomorrow, again, like I have had to every month since being with them…You see, I just received my Copaxone last Thursday and with the holiday and all I believe that is why they have not yet received payment from the Assistance Fund who is my angel for this!



If I didn’t have my doctor’s appointment for today, with all the wonderful news, yep, my cholesterol total is 180 and my HDL even went up as it should do, all right, my triglycerides are still a bit too high, but I’m working on that, my A1c is down to 5.8 from 6.1 which still is considered diabetic according to the new standards, i.e. anything over 5.4 is considered one… had to change in time for me, NOT FAIR, used to be over 7.0!

But it went down and the doctor was willing to get rid of one of her prescribed meds for me and lower the dose on another, but I will have to have more blood work in three months just before that three month visit, and then this ridiculous call while eating our early dinner!



How to ruin a not too bad day!

And so that is why this doctor reordered three, for a ninety day supply of each, of my four medications that had no refills and it was just as well, since one of the three has been cut in half dosage wise… and that is how we arrived in this aggravating situation all due to a doctor who does exactly what she promised, but the drug company that I deal with screws it all up!

It has made me physically ill and in fact while writing this I had to go lie down for a bit…but I felt I couldn’t do it with me taking basically the other night off… even though it is the Jewish New Year and I also felt the need to wish a Happy New Year to all my Jewish friends and relatives out there!



And so on that note of hope for the New Year too be less stressful, allow me to be the very first to wish all of you a very happy good night and ask you to count all your blessings and share all your overages with you know who and we will too!



And next time please be here or be square, ya hear!

Update: This just in 9:02 A.M. 9-5-13: The co-pay of $2350 was actually paid yesterday afternoon and they did not have to put me through any of this! Now they will be sending out my other medications!

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