(no subject)

[semperfiona]

Upon filling my prescription for Folgard RX 2.2 the other day, the Walgreens pharmacist told me it's not covered by my insurance. So after fighting the insurance website for nigh half an hour, I finally figure out where the Preferred Drug List is. Sure enough, not listed. So another half hour of googling later, I find out what Folgard RX 2.2 actually is, what the alternate brand names are, and what the generic product is. NONE of them are listed on the Preferred Drug List. The only thing that is is plain "folic acid".

Medication	Availability	Active Ingredients
		Folic Acid	Vitamin B-6	Vitamin B-12
Folgard Rx 2.2	Prescription	25mg	25mg	1000mcg
Foltx
Folbee (generic)

For comparison, a similar over-the-counter product.

Medication	Availability	Active Ingredients
		Folic Acid	Vitamin B-6	Vitamin B-12
Folgard OS	OTC	800mcg	10mg	115mcg

So what does Blue Cross expect me to take? Half a dozen individual pills to add up to the same dosage?

I did try calling the customer service line: I got cut off after a maze of voice prompts which repeated several times how swamped they are by the inquiries regarding Medicare Part D plans. I sent an email via the website; we'll see what response I get.

Comments

[mousefeathers.livejournal.com]

Yep. We pay for Don's Folbic and special Vitamin D prescription, too--they're "just vitamins," forget the part about NOT being available OTC. I went to Drugstore.com for the Folbic--costs me half what it does at the pharmacy, and I can get 90 days of it without worrying about whether it's the right time to order yet--BC/BS only gives us three days leeway on the monthly refills now, and they aren't real accurate about THAT. At least our Schnucks pharmacy is friendly--they know me by sight these days.

The big problem with third-party payers is that the actual end-user of the product is NOT the customer, just a marker in the accounting. The customer--the one they want to keep happy--is your employer, and employers don't have a good way to quantify your wellness--IF they really care--for their bean-counters. All they can really see is their costs.

I highly recommend not being in their financial power before you turn 50, if at all possible. It gets grim after 50.

[jilly-bear.livejournal.com]

You might try talking with Vannessa too - she has helped me get things from BCBS before.