So it took me awhile to figure it out, but the topical creme I use for a skin condition is $75 for the first 30 day supply. After that it is free on my insurance, must be some sort of convoluted co pay tier. So even though that 30 day supply lasts me almost 3 months, I am ordering one each 30 days until the end of the year since, come the first of the year, my co pay will kick back in. It's a crazy thing to have to do, but that is how one has to manage one's health costs.
I am also thinking of scheduling all tests I may need for 2017 with the appropriate HSA deduction. Skip 2018 and then back doing it in 2019. I think I will get the best bang for my insurance bucks that way.
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Sometimes you're the windshield, and sometimes you're the bug.
Yep, it's what ya gotta do!
The last week or so of the year is pure hell in the operating room. Everyone that might need surgery insists on having it done before the first since they have already met their deductible.
Yep, it's what ya gotta do! The last week or so of the year is pure hell in the operating room. Everyone that might need surgery insists on having it done before the first since they have already met their deductible.
That will be me next year!
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Sometimes you're the windshield, and sometimes you're the bug.
When I had my sleep study done, it was October when my doctor first said he wanted to send me for one. I said fine, but I was waiting until January. No was was I getting a $3000 test at the end of the year. I had it the second week of January, used up my whole deductible and the rest of the year was paid for.
When I had my sleep study done, it was October when my doctor first said he wanted to send me for one. I said fine, but I was waiting until January. No was was I getting a $3000 test at the end of the year. I had it the second week of January, used up my whole deductible and the rest of the year was paid for.
It sucks we have to do that. But at least if we have that luxury to be able to schedule things. What about the people who are diagnosed with something at the end of a calendar year and have to pay their whole deductible at the end and then a few months later at the beginning of the new year. That is just wrong.
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Sometimes you're the windshield, and sometimes you're the bug.
Do people's insurance years really go by calendar year? I haven't had that in years and years. Our "year" is up in July not December.
IKWTDS - just be sure the cream you get won't expire before you can use it. 15 years ago DD had a very expensive cream she used for her eczema and I managed the costs in a very similar way. Stocked up once the deductible was met - this cream wasn't even covered by our insurance and it was $150 a tube. It was a miracle cream though.
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Out of all the lies I have told, "just kidding" is my favorite !
Do people's insurance years really go by calendar year? I haven't had that in years and years. Our "year" is up in July not December.
IKWTDS - just be sure the cream you get won't expire before you can use it. 15 years ago DD had a very expensive cream she used for her eczema and I managed the costs in a very similar way. Stocked up once the deductible was met - this cream wasn't even covered by our insurance and it was $150 a tube. It was a miracle cream though.
I have never had insurance that used anything other than calendar year. Open enrollment is always October/November. New coverage starts January 1.
Crazy. Our year for benefits is up in July. Come to think of it, maybe it's because it's through a school? My dad works for a university and his is up in August and when DH worked for a university our insurance was up in September. I bet that's the difference now that I think about it.
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Out of all the lies I have told, "just kidding" is my favorite !
For my insurance, a 90 day supply is the same price as a 30 day supply. But, you have to request that your doctor writes the prescription as a 90 day supply. I have the same copay either way.
Crazy. Our year for benefits is up in July. Come to think of it, maybe it's because it's through a school? My dad works for a university and his is up in August and when DH worked for a university our insurance was up in September. I bet that's the difference now that I think about it.
It must be the school year factor. Everyone I know in a non school related job has an insurance year based on the calendar year.
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Sometimes you're the windshield, and sometimes you're the bug.
For my insurance, a 90 day supply is the same price as a 30 day supply. But, you have to request that your doctor writes the prescription as a 90 day supply. I have the same copay either way.
I wonder if I am paying the co pay for a 90 day supply up front. Must check into that.
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Sometimes you're the windshield, and sometimes you're the bug.
I wouldn't mind a 30% co pay if the creme price was reasonable. In the past, this creme was so cheap, about $10 that the pharmacy didn't even run it through my insurance. But it is one of those items that the price has increased significantly in the past few years. It also doesn't even need to be prescription. Ticks me off.
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Sometimes you're the windshield, and sometimes you're the bug.
I think more and more people are having to learn some tricks to get thru this mess.
"This mess" isn't new. I had to use the same tricks and planning 15 years ago for DD's cream. And then later on when other DD's acne cream was so expensive. It was considered cosmetic and not covered by insurance and the cream plus the other meds to keep it at bay was about $300 a month. We figured it out using all the tricks, coupons, etc that we could.
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Out of all the lies I have told, "just kidding" is my favorite !
I think more and more people are having to learn some tricks to get thru this mess.
"This mess" isn't new. I had to use the same tricks and planning 15 years ago for DD's cream. And then later on when other DD's acne cream was so expensive. It was considered cosmetic and not covered by insurance and the cream plus the other meds to keep it at bay was about $300 a month. We figured it out using all the tricks, coupons, etc that we could.
I think the issue is, the situation is getting worse. And with prescriptions that are very much needed.
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Sometimes you're the windshield, and sometimes you're the bug.
For those of you who carry an Epi pen, a friend of mine was able to get the generic version through her pharmacy (after some leg work and ordering/accommodating on her pharmacy's part). She said they ordered extras for other people just in case. Instead of being charge over $600 for the Epi pen, after her insurance piped in, she paid just $5 for it. It's the same stuff only it comes in a syringe instead of a pen. I've never seen the Epi pen but if anyone here needs it, and thinks that in a pinch they could use a regular syringe full of the same molecule, the pharmacy she used is called CVS.
You have to get a script for epinephrine and not for the Epi Pen in order for that to work. FYI. We had one of the nurses at the school help a bunch of the kids with that issue.
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Out of all the lies I have told, "just kidding" is my favorite !
I think more and more people are having to learn some tricks to get thru this mess.
"This mess" isn't new. I had to use the same tricks and planning 15 years ago for DD's cream. And then later on when other DD's acne cream was so expensive. It was considered cosmetic and not covered by insurance and the cream plus the other meds to keep it at bay was about $300 a month. We figured it out using all the tricks, coupons, etc that we could.
I think the issue is, the situation is getting worse. And with prescriptions that are very much needed.
25 years ago I had chicken pox so bad I was almost hospitalized. I got a script for Zovirax which is a herpes drug. It was not covered by my insurance and it was $15 per pill. Per. Pill. I need to take 2 a day for 10 days. You do the math on that one. I had to get a coupon from the drug company and call my insurance company and spend 3 hours on the phone explaining it was literally a life or death situation - the chicken pox were going up my nose and down my throats and my temp was over 105. So it has always been bad - its just that some of you had policies where you didn't feel it and now you do.
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Out of all the lies I have told, "just kidding" is my favorite !
You have to get a script for epinephrine and not for the Epi Pen in order for that to work. FYI. We had one of the nurses at the school help a bunch of the kids with that issue.
True. But who isn't asking for generic these days? Especially when the price is hiked up that much? It's all the same stuff - no binding agent to consider. My friend ran into an issue when the pharmacy didn't realize it existed. But after some searching, they found it. She made it sound like the pharmacist was trying to pull a scam on the Epi pen people (secretively telling her to let others know he got more of the generic). Seriously, it's epinephrine. Easy. I could synthesize that in a casual afternoon, in my lab. No need for them to get all precious about it. I'm glad that someone (CVS) finally put their foot down and ordered enough just in case others caught on. And anyone here who uses it now knows they can ask for the Rx for the generic epinephrine. It doesn't have to be the Epi pen.
