Drugstores can "kill " you

[ohiofarmer 3,265]

 First, a bit about me. My blood pressure is high when not controlled, but unfortunately i found out how high the hard way, because I always take my meds Having 5 days of supply left, I decided to find a new doctor because my existing doctor left my exams up to the nurses. I took my old prescription list which was two blood pressure meds . The new doctor said they could be combined into one pill and asked me my pharmacy and it was WalMart. Then life got interesting.  WalMart did not have the stuff on Thursday. My wife went there on Friday and no dice on the combined meds pill and the old script i had of two pills could not be filled because the doctor prescribed the combined pill.

 

 This was Friday. evening. Walmart said no worries hat they would call the doctor in the morning. UMMMHMMM.  I am not stupid enough to believe that. Doctor's web site said he would be there on Saturday. after arguing with my wife about haw nice the people were at WalMart, i simply asked her if she knew how nice the morning shift would be on Saturday.. i am figuring worst case scenario. i got my pressure checked and it was nearly at the level you are supposed to be at an emergency room..  I just quit arguing with my wife so as to not raise my pressure even higher

 

 I decided that it was up to me to save my own bacon, so i went to the doctor [who lied on his website about being open]  by posting a sign on the door of new business hours. Wanting desperately to posses a piece of paper with a RX on it, my only option was going back to  back to Wal mart.    i told them  Failure was NOT an Option and what was gonna happen in no uncertain terms. Either the drugs or if they were still out, a paper scrip that was my property that I paid for and wanted back.  The pharm people were not having that , but I stood my ground. i told them to get on the phone and find and find another WalMart that had the stuff in stock.  They gave me the 'Why didn't i think of that?' look and found another store that had the stuff ten miles away.. Victory

 

 Lessons learned is never leave the doctor's office without pAPER when you have a new prescription, and be able to think outside the box a bit when you are surrounded by others who have a narrow focus...Oh, and i found out that my old medication was recalled!  You cannot make this stuff up!

[Jerry77 1,218]

1 hour ago, ohiofarmer said:

 

 I decided that it was up to me to save my own bacon

Health care is in the toilet nowadays - everything is specialized to the point you can get nothing done - especially in the burgs where I live...and if you use CVS for your drugs, be very careful what they hand you - recently they have screwed me twice...once by shorting the meds I paid for and once by pawning off an old prescription item that was no longer valid...this was becasue my son picked up my stuff and didn't know their lying ways..they actually owe me 74 bucks, but I'll never see it.

[ztnoo 2,298]

Here's a tip everyone should check out: go https://www.goodrx.com/

Enter a med you are on in the search window, enter the dosage, and the size of script (# of pills) as written in the prescription.

The site will return to you usually at least 8-10 drugstores within a reasonable distance of your zip code and give you comparative pricing at each place, all on one page.

Seriously!

Usually coupons are available from each pharmacy for a drug. If so, print it off or save to the app on your phone, and show either at the time of submission of your script at the pharmacy.

Most pharmacies will honor the pricing, and if there's a problem, ask them to research the issue before you agree to purchase the med.

 

You'll be astounded at the often huge differences in pricing for your med(s) within your local area for the same med, dosage, and pill count. You might even end up mad as he-double hockey sticks.

Sometimes you'll realize how much one or two pharmacies are literally raping you as you hand your cash across the counter.

My primary care physician gave me a heads up about this before I had Medicare, had NO INSURANCE, and Obamycare hadn't kicked into high gear yet (where I would have been fined hundreds of dollars, maybe more) for not having insurance. I turned 65 just at the right time to get my butt saved.

 

I'm on three different pressure meds and they are the most expensive meds I take. But now the cost is what I consider reasonable.

I've learned to insist on hard copy scripts for whatever meds I am prescribed, even those from specialists. Don' t settle for answering the question "which preferred pharmacy should we fax or call your script to?"

Having those hard copy scripts allows me to "shop around" for each period of time my scripts are usually written ....... 6 months.

There are occasionally some variations in pricing when renewal time rolls around, but they are usually small changes.

But never be lulled into thinking one pharmacy is always going to give you the best available pricing in your area. That can change, and its well worth your time to check the website each time you need to renew a script.

Originally I was relying on CVS (closest major pharmacy), until I learned how much more I was paying going to them with my prescriptions. So I switched.

For quite a while Walmart was the lowest with everything I needed.

Then suddenly their pricing on some things I required went up considerably. So, I started shopping around again, and found Meijer was the lowest on most of my meds now.

There are some very common meds they provide for free with a prescription. One example for me is Atorvastatin or (Lipitor), which is an inexpensive drug that lowers levels of cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood. I'm on the most minimal dosage, but the point is I get it for free. Learn what these meds at individual pharmacies are and take advantage of the benefit.

 

If you have a hard time believing what I saying, think about this.

My wife is on a Medicare Advantage policy (I am not currently, just regular Medicare), and EVERY MED she is on, is cheaper making use of GoodRx coupons, than what it would be if she used the Part D coverage of her Medicare Advantage provider policy.

Let that sink in ................................. then go to GoodRx and look around.

I venture to say, you'll likely be shocked compared to what you are paying now.

 

For whatever its worth..........

Steve

 

 

 

Edited March 9, 2019 by ztnoo

[ohiofarmer 3,265]

   Steve, you just hit a bases loaded home run!  Not only just for me, but for the other people on this site, or their friends or anyone else they might know. Thank you for taking the time to inform us of lessons learned from the book of life....