Vent: I was overcharged for my prescriptions

[sjs314]

I have used CVS for years and have not had a problem with them. On printed drug info sheet they attach to the perscription bag, what did it say they charged the ins ? It is always listed on mine. That will tell you if the perscripton cost was what they told you when you called since it should be listed there as ins ______

under that is the copay amount

 

[wdwfan16]

I told my DH about what happened.

He told me that it's no big deal because it's only $12, and to just not go back there for prescriptions again. There are a lot of people who can't afford to even go to the doctor, buy groceries, get school clothes for their kids, etc. That's so true.

So, my vent is over, and I'm letting it go.

 

[kandemom]

We always pay the lesser price. It only makes sense. I know you said you were letting it go but something seems very fishy here.

 

[pixiedustaholic]

I get all my prescriptions filled at Target and my co pay for generics is 8 dollars. My Loratadine (Generic Claritan) is on their $4.00 prescription list and that is all I get charged. .

OT but wanted to let you know I get 360 Loratadine tabets 10mg at Sam's Club for less than $13 with no Rx. Didn't know if this may help you save $$

 

[MomToOne]

So from what I see on the CVS website, you have to sign up for their "Health Savings Pass" at a cost of $10 a year to get the cheaper drugs.

Here is the list of what is covered: http://www.cvs.com/CVSApp/images/pr...v_pass/health_savings_pass_medicationlist.pdf

Ibuprofen 800mg is on the list.

The website hedges quite a bit on just who can join this plan - they say it is for people with no coverage or only "limited coverage" but don't come out and say you can't join if you have drug coverage.

Also, all drugs are on this plan seem to come in 90 supplies. They don't say what happens if your prescription is less than 90 day.

It sounds to me like your pharmacy definitely was not being forth coming with information, although they may be just skirting doing anything outright wrong (in a legal sense anyway).

 

[midas]

There could be a number of issues of why you were charged your 10.00 copay.

CVS does not have a 4.00/30 day supply generic list. They only have their Health Savings Pass which for a annual fee gets you a 90 day supply for 9.99. They do state that they will prorate the price for 90 day supplies that are more than commonly prescribed amounts. (If drug A is normally given once a day, the price for 90 would be 9.99. If you take drug A twice daily, your 90 day supply would be 180 would 19.98.) They do not have provisions for anything less than 90 day supplies. That would fall back to their usual price.

Many insurances calculate the price and copays for generics based on a contract price. For drugs like Ibuprofen and Amoxicillin, the contract price for a 10 to 14 day supply is usually less than the generic copay, but some insurances (not many anymore) have a clause which states that you pay the full generic copay regardless of the contract price as long as the pharmacy's usual price is more than the copay. (20 Amoxicillin 500mg has usual price of 12.99, your copay is 10.00. Usual price of 8.99, your copay is 8.99)

If you took your prescription and insurance to WalMart or Target, your copay would have been 4.00 because that is their usual price.

The way insurance plans work in pharmacies is very confusing. The pharmacists at chains like CVS, Rite Aid, etc have no control over how plans are billed. They enter the numbers in the computer and transmit the claim and it comes back how much to charge the patient. All of this is set up at corporate.

One thing for sure is that they should have quoted you a cash price for your prescriptions when you asked. 128.00 for Ibuprofen 800 is NOT right unless you were getting about 1000 or so

 

[C.Ann]

Between myself, my DD, her DH, and her DH's parents, we have had so many problems with CVS and prescriptions it would take forever to list them all.. Unfortunately it's not just "one" CVS either - we've tried 3 different locations..

Anyhow - just last week I called Rite-Aid (where I get my scripts when I'm up here at the lake) for a cash quote on one of my scripts and they rattled it right off - with no qualms at all.. Never even asked me why I wanted the cash price..

I despise CVS and only go there if it's 100% necessary..

If I were you, I would definitely follow up on this.. $12 is $12 - that you could have spent on something else..

Good luck!

 

[Chaoster]

I am not sure if the laws have changed but when I worked in a pharmacy the price of the most popular meds where posted on a chart by the pharmacy. It had brand and generic price. It had to be posted. Don't know if its national or just by state. This was also 15 years ago.

 

[Heidi Loves Disney]

On the paper with instructions that was stapled to each bag for my 2 prescriptions it shows this (both are the same)...

Date: 08/06/2010 DAW:0 (I'm not sure what DAW is)

RX: with the prescription number here followed by a space and 2 zeroes

INS: $0.00

PAID PRESCRIPTION

PAY: $10.00

++++++++

So, I assume insurance wasn't billed anything.
I just thought I'd post what was on the papers that came with the prescriptions.

 

[bumbershoot]

I told my DH about what happened.

He told me that it's no big deal because it's only $12, and to just not go back there for prescriptions again. There are a lot of people who can't afford to even go to the doctor, buy groceries, get school clothes for their kids, etc. That's so true.

So, my vent is over, and I'm letting it go.

Huh. I'd go the opposite way. You guys CAN afford it, you have time to take this further and aren't just scrabbling for existence. Therefore, who better than to take this further, so they don't do this to someone else who canNOT afford that extra $12???

There's no way I'd let this go. We don't even have CVS here and I want to call corporate.

 

[ajh88]

On the paper with instructions that was stapled to each bag for my 2 prescriptions it shows this (both are the same)...

Date: 08/06/2010 DAW:0 (I'm not sure what DAW is)

RX: with the prescription number here followed by a space and 2 zeroes

INS: $0.00

PAID PRESCRIPTION

PAY: $10.00

++++++++

So, I assume insurance wasn't billed anything.
I just thought I'd post what was on the papers that came with the prescriptions.

First, I did not realize that you had to join a prescription program at CVS to access cheaper RX prices - if that is the case, then I will back off the "illegal" portion of my previous post. I suppose this could be chalked up to a lesson learned at CVS. I despise the programs that require you to sign up to get the cheaper prices because they don't always make it clear that is the case. (I know the local Walgreens will quote you the "plan" price as the cash price if you call and ask the price of something).

Anyway, DAW stands for "dispense as written" - a "0" typically means the doctor allowed for a generic substitution. I would probably still complain as I previously stated, simply because I think it is deceptive - but it doesn't appear to be a fraud issue. I'm not familiar with their patient inserts, so I guess it is possible that $10 is their regular cash price, with $4 being the discounted price if you join their discount club, so the $0 could indicate that your insurance didn't pay anything and you paid the full cash price (does that make any sense?). Even though they quoted you some crazy outrageous price for ibuprofen. Or the $10 is really your co-pay, though then I'm not sure why the insurance field says "0". I don't know - can't figure it out! Maybe $12 isn't worth the aggravation.

Still hope you have a great weekend!

 

[sjs314]

On the paper with instructions that was stapled to each bag for my 2 prescriptions it shows this (both are the same)...

Date: 08/06/2010 DAW:0 (I'm not sure what DAW is)

RX: with the prescription number here followed by a space and 2 zeroes

INS: $0.00

PAID PRESCRIPTION

PAY: $10.00

++++++++

So, I assume insurance wasn't billed anything.
I just thought I'd post what was on the papers that came with the prescriptions.

Seems to me then that whomever you spoke with on the phone saying it was 100+ and they lost $ was full of S____. MY ins co-pays are $2.30 and $6.30 and even my water pill which is cheap I would pay $2.30 and ins was billed $1.00+

If the perscription price was less than your $10 co-pay that is what you should have been charged not the straight co-pay amount, someone mentioned about it all being computerized but a human still has to imput the info and seems someone messed up.

 

[Diabolicdesire]

OT but wanted to let you know I get 360 Loratadine tabets 10mg at Sam's Club for less than $13 with no Rx. Didn't know if this may help you save $$

Thanks ! I'll have to check into this on my next trip to Sam's

 

[Heidict]

My regular pharmacy would have charged me $3.86 for one prescription and $4 for the other.

I just called CVS to ask them the price. They wouldn't tell me without looking it up on my chart. I did give them my name, and after being put on hold for about 5 minutes, I was told that the 800 mg of ibuprofen would have cost me $128 cash, and they took a huge loss by only charging me $10. How can that be?

I asked if I heard it right that it's $128 for 800 mg ibuprofen, and was told that is correct.

My other prescription was Amoxicillin.

Both were generic.

So, the idiot on the phone was actually trying to convince you that ibuprofen was $128 and that they didn't even charge your insurance? They only charged you $10 and just eat the $118 lose? Oh that is rich. They gave you generic and charge you 10 times the normal cost.

Something is not right. You need to speak to a CVS manager and to your insurance about this. You are not the only one this has happened to.

i just went to cvs for my ds antibodic eye drops. there was no generic only brand and with my insurance it cost me $77.00

so next time i go to the doctors office i will make sure all prescriptions are generic.

I just had to get some of those also and while I only had to pay my copay, the actual cost of the drug was around $77, and that was generic.


I hate CVS. The customer service is horrible, the wait time is ridiculous and they screw up.

Once we went in with a script for percocet. I believe it was for 20 of them. We also had other scipts to fill, so once they were all done we paid and went home. We opened the percocets and low and behold, there were more then 20. Quite a bit more, about double actually.

Having worked in a pharmacy before I know how controlled percocets are and that they could get in serious trouble if their counts were off. So, I called them. The girl told me on the phone that I was wrong and that they wouldn't make a mistake like that. Um, okay sweetie. Good luck explaining to the Feds why you are short on your percocet counts.

OP, I know you DH suggested that you drop it, but I really hope you look into it more. If not for yourself and your $12, then for someone else who doesn't have that extra $12 to spend.

 

[Hannathy]

Personally I'm not sure why you need a prescription for Ibuprofen but when you get a prescription from a pharmacy you are also paying for the pharmacists time and the clerk and the paper work, they pharmacists expertise has to be paid for. It may not be needed in this case but other times it is.

If you had just skipped the prescription since you didn't need any of the pharmacist's knowledge for taking Motrin you could have gone to Sam's and got 1000 tabs of 200mg Ibuprofen for under $9 and simply taken 4 of them.

Everyone needs to remember that the medication is not the only thing you are paying for when you use a pharmacy.

 

[LizinSTL]

I am so freaking mad about a stupid $12.

I got 2 prescriptions today after my doctor appointment. My regular pharmacy didn't have one of the prescriptions and wouldn't have it until Wednesday, so I was advised to go to CVS.

CVS had the 2 medications. They asked if I had insurance, which I did. I didn't have my insurance card with me. I asked how much the prescription was for cash and was told they couldn't tell me. I was told they couldn't do anything for me without my prescription card and like an idiot I drove 10 miles back and forth to get the prescription card I left at my house.

I was charged $10 copay for each prescription. Then later I found out that each prescription cost less than $4 cash each.

I was charged $20 for 2 prescriptions that would have cost me less than $8 had I paid cash, and they refused to tell me the cash price when I asked.

My friend who works there told me that if they know you have insurance, they aren't allowed to tell you the cash price. Instead they just charge you the copay price even if your copay is 3 times more than the cash price.

I can't believe CVS can get away with that. I don't want to make waves because my friend works for CVS as a pharmacy tech, but I am just so angry.

I know it's only $12, but I could have bought something else for my family with that $12 instead and feel like I've been ripped off.

It just doesn't seem right, and I wanted to vent about it.

I won't be going back to CVS for prescriptions again. If they do that to me, I wonder how many other people they do that to. It just doesn't seem right.
How can they do that?

Is your insurance/prescription part of a government program of any kind (including federal employee, military, medicare, medicaid?)

If so, they can't legally offer you a cash price. We just went through this w/ my MIL and her medicare prescription plan...she pays $35 month for 3 meds that are available for $30 for a 90 day supply for anyone else.

 

[figaro2tigger]

Regarding the Target and Kroger $4 for a 30 day supply of listed meds. The 90 days supply of these meds cost $10 at these 2 store chains. Your Dr has to write a 90 days quantity to be dispensed at one time (not 30 days with 2 refills) in order for the pharmacy to dispense 90 days at once, but you do save a couple of bucks.
Costco is also VERY inexpensive when it comes to generic over the counter meds. I get a 360 days supply of generic Zyrtec for under $15.
HTH

 

[anna08]

I have seen this same scenario happen many times here in our town in the past decade, and it is worsening now that co-pays are significantly higher than the cost of many generic meds. This IS fraud, plain and simple. Generic ibuprofen is incredibly cheap and normal amounts will never cost more than $3-5. You really should call/write that CVS pharmacy manager and explain that you are going to report them to your state's insurance commissioner (usually can find by google search.)

I always encouraged my patients to call a pharmacy first and ask for the cash price of the drug so they could avoid this. They lied when they said they couldn't tell you, and it is even more ridiculous that they implied that you HAD to drive back home to get your card.

Please if you can find time to call/write or this will continue to go on to other folks.

BTW, if you ever do have to pay cash for rx - call many different pharmacies because the price can vary by a lot of money. The big chains are the most expensive. Here in Nashville, the best are Costco and Kroger most of the time. Sorry for your aggravation.

 

[LBIJim]

Personally I'm not sure why you need a prescription for Ibuprofen but when you get a prescription from a pharmacy you are also paying for the pharmacists time and the clerk and the paper work, they pharmacists expertise has to be paid for. It may not be needed in this case but other times it is.

.

A perscription is needed for higher strengths of ibuprofen. Not exactly sure, but I believe it's 600mg or higher. Over-the-counter ibuprofen is of lesser strength.

And no way should if have cost what the Previous Poster was quoted. It should be on the list of $4 or $10 generics, depending on the strength and quantity dispensed.

Jim

 

[LBIJim]

Having worked in a pharmacy before I know how controlled percocets are and that they could get in serious trouble if their counts were off. So, I called them. The girl told me on the phone that I was wrong and that they wouldn't make a mistake like that. Um, okay sweetie. Good luck explaining to the Feds why you are short on your percocet counts.

.

Indeed, that particular pharmacy could face serious problems and fines when it's determined that the amount of Percocet (or any other C II medication) physically in the store is less than the amount listed in the record or logbook.

Jim