It's been a while since we've had a Rich's Rant. Rich is Rich Fisherman, senior producer for "The Call", who only lets loose when he's got a full head of steam.
And he does now. About prescription co-pays.
Here's Rich's rant about the sudden change in his medical plan, and how it slices the pie, or the pizza, in nonsensical ways:
"I know employees are shouldering more and more of healthcare costs, but this is ridiculous.
Take Caremark/CVS and their new prescription drug plan.
Basically there is none.
Instead of a co-pay I now pay for the entire prescription. At least that's what it is on my company plan.
But it gets worse. Instead of taking Lipitor or Zocor to lower my cholesterol levels, I take a generic statin (see cost). I'm fine with that. But my cardiologist wants me to take 30mg once a day. And of course the doses only come in 10, 20 or 40 mg.
Under my new plan I have to pay the entire cost of a 90-day supply, about $30. But I have to order either a 20mg and a 10mg pill (double the cost) or three 10mg pills (triple the cost). Their reasoning...I'm getting more pills. But the 10mg pills are smaller than the 20mg, and the 20mg are smaller than 40mg, and so on. In essence it's like charging the recipient double for a regular pizza pie if ordering 12 slices instead of 6!
Sounds silly, doesn't it?.
The answer: Have my cardiologist either change my prescription to 20 or 40mg, which is not what healthcare is supposed to be.
Shame on you Caremark!"
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