Rheumatoid Arthritis Support Group
Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic, inflammatory, multisystem, autoimmune disorder. It is a disabling and painful condition which can lead to substantial loss of mobility due to pain and joint destruction. The disease is also systemic in that it often also affects many extra-articular tissues throughout the body including the skin, blood vessels, heart, lungs, and...
Hi all. Back in December my husband got a letter from the company he retired from stating that he must call their medical benefits department and "certify" any of his dependents so their insurance could continue. If we did not call by January 15th, I would be cancelled from his insurance plan. Being his wife, and a dependent on his plan, we called the company on January 10th and spoke to their "Certification Department", where after giving answers to their many questions, the gal on the phone proudly (well, maybe not proudly) stated "Your wife has been certified as your dependent is will continue on your medical insurance for another year." On February 6th I went to get a prescription filled and I was told by the pharmacy technician "Oh, your insurance was cancelled as of January 31st!" I was like....".oh great.....I can see this now".....So I called the benefits department and yes, they did cancel me even though we went thru the process to certify me. I called them on February 6th and was told they would open a ticket on this right away, blah blah blah and should have this resolved soon since she could see were we did call in and spoke to the Certification Department. I was also told by the gal I spoke to she would call me back the next day, but no, she did not call. I was lucky enough to get her on the phone yesterday, and again, she said she would call me back today, but no......not a phone call. I am starting to get a little worried this is going to turn into a real nightmare. I already had to pay over $100 for two prescriptions because my doctor said I really could not go without them. So here is the real dilemma: In less than 3 weeks I will be out of my Enbrel shots. (Thank God I got my refill done on January 29th!!) This is a super expensive drug and have heard the shots costs something like $800 each. I am trying to see what I can do just in case they keep dragging their feet on this and things are not resolved soon. This is a HUGE national employer, and I am probably just a little nothing on their list. Kinda like "Take a number, we will get to you when we can!" I am also starting to get a little anxiety over this!!! Anyone have suggestions on maybe where I can get Enbrel at a discount or what I can do? My pharmacy gave me some discounts on a few of the meds but the Enbrel comes from Optum RX which mails the shots to me.
Steph's right about working your way up the food chain, too. These places hire minimum wage workers, don't train them well, them let them loose with sugestions like "just pay out of pocket" for Enbrel. I had a fruitless conversation with some chica in the "customer care" department- I hate that term with a fiery passion- who had no clue that Enbrel couldn't be shipped on the slow boat, then sit around my office for a few days while I was out of town.
Yeah - just pay out of pocket for the Enbrel - yeah......
Something similar though not quite as drastic for me recently. I've been on 2 blood pressure medications for years - and they work. Now my new insurance says one or the other - not both. My doc's assistant said she is tired of calling these people so just go to Wal-Mart and get the second one. Well it was $55 for 30 days - just can't afford that. It's now been 2 weeks without the one med - they were supposed to call for authorization last Monday after I refused to pay for the second med. Been off the second med for 2 weeks now. Was at my Rhuematologist yesterday for my regular 3 months appointment - my blood pressure was 170/100 - not good - but what do they care....??