Beware the fine print

Beware the variants.

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Interesting.

My PBM is Express Scripts. For one box of 5 standard pens (3ml/pen), the suggested retail price (?) is $875. One box lasts 20-21 days. So $175 per pen (or about $43/day).

What a pain in the tookus those folks are.

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I dumped Express Scripts for Blink and/or GoodRx whichever offers the better price.

'38Packard

Unfortunately, I do not have that option. The insurance company selects the PBM that benefits them, not the customer.

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Yea, I wish there was a way to provide feedback to my former employer that they have chosen benefits providers that suck big time without running the risk of being dumped from the retiree list. Express Scripts and Aetna don’t do right by their members. Especially when they won’t approve meds that are prescribed by a doctor. Both the boss and I have experienced this several times. Of course Aetna knows more than a medical doctor but hey a dollar here a dollar there look at our bottom line.

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Been there–and nailed the PBM with their own choice. My doctor had prescribed Lipitor and it worked based on prior years’ records. The PBM said to use another drug as Lipitor was not “in the formulary”. Didn’t argue with them. Tried their recommended “approved” drug for six months–then the doctor ran the same tests to see the results. It was not even close. Lipitor beat their choice, hands down. So, with that proof their choice was not effective with me, they approved Lipitor for me. Just need to play their game against them.

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I hear ya. In our recent encounter they denied a drug and the condition worsened and now they’ve approved a more costly drug weighing the cost of the drug vs an admission to a hospital. Makes sense right. Ah, retirement, old age and insurance companies. Gotta love it.

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Is this a Medicare Advantage plan at work?

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No. It was the state system that ran their healthcare.