As most people know, I haven’t had health insurance for over a year now and because of this I have been paying out of pocket for any necessary medical treatment. During this time I’ve been on a specific medication that, while pricey, works well and I’m comfortable on it. Now, up until January of this year, the manufacturer of the medication provided assistance with paying for it, which was wonderful. Unfortunately they decided to take this service away from the uninsured and only offer it if you already have health insurance.
Yeah, that makes no sense to me – help the people who already have prescription coverage and pay a FRACTION of what I do. Totally fair, right?
Anyway, I got over that bump and since the change-over have been paying full price for the prescription. It’s a strain on the pocketbook, but unfortunately blood pressure isn’t something you can play with. During this time I have been using Walgreens pharmacy, exclusively because it’s convenient and they’ve never not had the medication in stock. For the past 7 months, I’ve been using the same Walgreens, which is right down the street.
Now, my first beef is the fact that everytime I go to pick it up, I’m always informed that there’s no insurance information in the system, do I know this. I always smile and nod, telling them I’m aware of that and was planning to pay full price for the medicine. I realize that it’s unusual for someone to be purchasing such a high priced medication without insurance, but it’s not like I just grew a second head. I’m not the only person in the US who doesn’t have insurance and I’m sure there are people out there paying much more than I am for other medications.
Now my second problem has been recently, after I submit for a refill online, I’ve been getting a message that there’s a delay because my insurance can’t be processed. Um, what insurance? The first time I called the person who answered, rudely informed me that my insurance was expired. I shared my surprise at this, since I don’t carry any insurance. “You realize you’ll have to pay cash then and it’s $XX.XX?” she asks, as if this is the first time I’ve ever tried to do this. I explain that I’m aware of that and haven’t had insurance for quite a while. She said she adjusted things in the computer and that my prescription would be ready for pick up the next day.
Now today, once again I get that message and the girl I speak to informs me yet again that my insurance is expired. This is after I told her at the beginning that I don’t have insurance so don’t understand what the problem is. She then, very rudely – once again – tells me I’ll have to pay cash for this. A bit exasperated I explain that I’m well aware of that and have been paying cash for quite a while now. I also tell her that I’m a little frustrated with the attitude the employees seem to approach my lack of insurance with. You’d think they’d like me better – I help improve their bottom line everytime I have to pick up my medicine. They’re getting at least $50 more out of me than any other person who walks through that door with insurance.
I just don’t appreciate the attitude and being treated like there’s something wrong with me just because I don’t have insurance. Yes, I have it now, but I don’t know if it’s going to cover my medicine yet, so I may not try and apply it to this month’s pick-up. I’m not sure yet.
All I can think is are other people who don’t have insurance faced with the same condescending attitude when they try and get medical treatment, whether it be at a doctor’s office or pharmacy. It annoys me to no end to think that the people who are having to pay the most for these treatments are somehow getting the least respect just because we don’t have a shiny plastic card with Blue Cross, CIGNA or some other insurance company’s logo on it.
Sure I have insurance now, but that doesn’t make me any better than I was before. All it really means is that my family is paying $400/mo so I can get a medication for $40 instead of $130. If it weren’t for the fact that there’s also doctors visits to consider, I’d wonder if perhaps we were getting the raw end of the deal.
