I took my daughter to a dermatologist to get some help with her acne. The doctor prescribed an oral antibiotic and a cream one. He said the cream was new and contained Vitamin A to also help the skin. He gave us two small samples plus a coupon to apply at the pharmacy. That's a warning right there that it's an expensive prescription. Well sure enough with the $35 coupon and what my insurance will pay it came to $190.00. (The oral drug was $10.00) Well they had to order the cream so I went to pick it up today. The pharmacist told me that had the cream just had the antibiotic and not the added Vitamin A that it would have been about $30.00! I said well the doctor said it was a new treatment... The pharmacist said well sure, the drug reps come in, buy the office lunch, push the new drug and so the doctor in turn will prescribe them. So I guess I paid for the office lunch! We have another appointment next month and he sure will hear from me. I feel like I've just been robbed. Maybe $160.00 is chump change to the doctor but it's huge for me. It's not like he said we could get a generic.
Anyone else have that experience at the pharmacy??

Take a deep breath...maybe it's because a drug rep brought him lunch or maybe it's because the research shows this is the best new treatment for your child's type of acne.

Not all drs. are bought off by free lunch.

Good point and breathing always helps!
I've had past experiences with pharmacists who have turned out to be correct about these things though so that's why I am so perturbed.
One saved me a ton of money by telling me to have my doctor give me a 6 month prescription for a larger dose, cut them in half and have it filled at a cheaper pharmacy than the one she was working at!
I appreciate your comments. Thank you!

We have had that experience when dh went to the pharmacy for allergy/asthma meds. He got there and his bill was $300 after insurance! Of course none of the prescriptions were the $4 variety. The pharmacist was nice and told him which ones he didn't need (why would a doc prescribe something you don't need?!) and he got by with $112. Very frusterating

I know exactly were your coming from. I have a chronicly sick DS. His immunologist ordered some test (yes they were needed) but some of the test over lapped (meaning serveral test tested the same things) Anyway to my shock we received a bill of $5000 for a few blood tests and x-ray. I almost died.
The same doc prescribed a sinus med last month plus another antibotic. My insurance did not cover the sinus med and it would have cost me $130. We didn't get it. We just got the antibotic. DS doc appointment tomorrow should be interesting.

We had an article in the paper of a nearby city that stated alot of doctors in our area are not allowing company sales reps to give them free things anymore, including lunches, samples, notepads for the reason that they didn't want to feel the pressure of having to prescribe their meds. It stated that although the samples are helpful for their patients that dont have insurance, it was best all around to not be given gifts, especially since those gifts mean that the medicine costs more. They felt like new medications could be learned about in the medical journals so there was no need to advertise with notepads and pens, etc.

No real help with your case, I don't know whether he thought it was the best medicine to use or if he felt pressured to prescribe that brand. Most of my doctors will tell me when a prescription is going to be very costly beyond my insurance coverage. Your doctor should have discussed it with you.

I last time I saw my doctor, she was complaining about the drug reps. Said she preferred eating a pb&j sandwich & having a little time to herself at lunch. I've seen her for years & she's happy to give samples or change prescriptions when I need, but doesn't push the new stuff. I'm very up front about getting what will help me, but ask for less expenses meds if possible. Of course, my insurance pushes me to use generics too. It doesn't brother me to ask about the cost since I may not feel I can afford it. Sometimes I even say my insurance may not cover it (which has happened) & I need to know how much. Hope the doctor can change your daughter to the $30 med & she will get the same results. I would just try to be up front & positive about it when talking to the doctor.

I hate that this happened to you. I can empathize. My poor mom was prescribed a blood thinner by a dr. and when dad got to the pharmacy to pay for it it was $1200!!! Daddy paid for it and ofcourse once you walk away from the window with it you can't return it, even unopened. Ugh. Anyway.....that won't happen again. And me, I'm asking for the $4 drugs at Walmart from now on. The dr. better have a very good reason why I can't use those instead of the high priced stuff.

I hate that this happened to you. I can empathize. My poor mom was prescribed a blood thinner by a dr. and when dad got to the pharmacy to pay for it it was $1200!!! Daddy paid for it and ofcourse once you walk away from the window with it you can't return it, even unopened. Ugh. Anyway.....that won't happen again. And me, I'm asking for the $4 drugs at Walmart from now on. The dr. better have a very good reason why I can't use those instead of the high priced stuff.



That makes me physically sick for your parents.:fuming:

Stephanie

When we had a less than steller prescription plan, I would tell our doctor that we would be paying the majority of the prescription cost, so please keep that in mind when writing the RX. There are a lot of older medications that work just as well as the newer ones, but our doctor said often patients request the new meds. As long as it works, I don't care if it was created 2 or 200 years ago. lol

I've had a similar situation. A quick phone call to my Dr.'s office and I had an affordable script. Many factor's go into your Dr.'s choice of med's including your medical history. I would listen to what a pharmasist has to say, however I trust my Dr. and will get his advice. The "free lunches" do not sell newer med's. The claims of "improvements" are what sell the med's. I also have a situation where the less expensive med does not work as well as the "premium" drug, and will pay the additional cost. Dr.'s don't know insurance info., or cost of drugs....Most importantly in my opinion, if I were "so mad at my Dr"....I'd be looking for a new Dr. that I trusted and felt good about.

when My kiddos were little our Pediatrition would give me 2 weeks woth of samples instead of a perscription. I was going in at least once a week for ear infections etc with my kids (5 lottle ones)

DS's plastic surgeon did some face reconstruction on him a year ago. when we got the bill from his office (after insurance paid) it was over 16,000. :surprise: anyway, he had told me he would do the surgery for whatever the insurance paid as payment in full. I cried. DH called his office and talked to him and he tore up the bill.

I feel for ya.

I always ask for samples, too. Our peditrician will give out samples of liquid Tylenol or Motrin if you ask. They are small bottles, but the nurse usually gives me 2-3 of them.

Time for you to find a doctor. I would be livid!

DH and I have to feel we are at death's door to go to a doctor, but when we do go, we tell him straight-up "If it's not generic do not prescribe it. We cannot afford it" We've never had a problem.

I definately feel for you. I have already posted my non-fun episode with the doctor and her prescription writing. I have found that doctors will prescribe a cheaper version if you ask about the cost or let them know what insurance you have. I would call the doctor and ask if there was a different type of script you could get because of the cost.

I got an $$$ Rx once. The pharmacist called the dr and got the Rx changed.

Our ped. will not see ds because our insurance hasn't paid yet and I refuse to pay the dr and insurance premiums (I do pay the co-pay and my share). We are in the process of looking for a new dr. Until then I guess we will get Vax at the health dept. The last health dept I was in needed a security guard to keep order. I hope the one where I live now is better.

FYI - My daughter uses Tazorac (cream). It has helped her tremendously and it is covered entirely by my insurance (except the co-pay).

i always ask them tell me the cost when i drop it off, also my insurance has an online tool that lets me price things. we have a high deductible and i have to watch every penny!

When it comes to drugs, I listen to my pharmacist...he knows what drugs cost, what drugs work for what and what drugs can cause bad reactions if mixed. My doctor's office will give out samples, if you ask.

Thanks for all the great feedback. Glad to know I'm not the only one out there who's had this problem.
I have called docs in the past from the pharmacy to get cheaper drugs. My daughter had an eye infection and needed $90 eye drops and the doctor told the pharmacy there was no alternative...
Hopefully when I see this guy next month we'll get this straightened out.

geez it is outrageus what they charge for some med`s.

Back when I was pregnant, I was waiting for a room to open up, so I was sitting in a small room in the back. I saw a drug rep come in and try to coax my doc to sit down and chat with him. Well, she told him that there were several ladies waiting and that he could just send her a letter. She then asked him to take his posters/ads with him because she didn't think her patients needed to be bombarded with ads. She said that the space was better suited for health info (self exams, etc). Needless to say I LOVE this woman!! And, I think that drugs reps are similiar to dirty car salesmen!

I'm a pharmacy technician and I can tell you that a lot of what other members have said here is true. Although I do think that the pharmacists give good advice, I wouldn't totally believe what he said about the drug reps . I have worked for a pharmacy benefits manager and even at that company there were many different plans. One plan covered everything. Another only covered generics. How your plan works is usually somewhat determined by your employer.

If your doctor doesn't know your plan, they may not think about you paying more. I'd call your pharmacy plan and see if they could send you some type of formulary to take with you when you go to the doctor. I'd also find out if they have a website with the formulary info on it that the doctor could access at his office. You can also usually give them a call from the doctor's waiting room (after you have the script) to check if a med is covered and at what copay. That way you can ask the doctor to change it before you even go to the pharmacy.

These are all options that I would have given to any of our members.

it's still optional to purchase the prescriptions.

I am a nurse and at one time I worked as a nurse for a medical insurance company.
1.)Know your plan related to what will or will not be covered and how much a medication is covered for. Call and ask if you do not know.
2.)Tell your doctor that you can not afford a high cost medication. He can and usually will order something which is covered.
3.)Practice preventive medicine. Keep yourself and your family as healthy as possible...Here on frugal village we minimize unhealthy choices (such as junk food which is good), Maintain a healthy weight, exercise.
4.) Look up alternate health therapies which are alot cheaper than prescriptions such as using hydrogen peroxide for ear aches/infections.
5.)Maintain your mental health.

I too still use Tazorac (cream), it's a retnoid (vitamin a). After insurance it's $60. However, that tube will lsat me 3-4 months if used according to directions.

I would seriously be angry too, mainly because I buy pure vitamin A cream for my skin from the natural health food store by my house....for £4.75. My homeopathic nutritionist suggested it for my skin, along with other things, and it works just fine.

I use medicated cleansers and the like from Mario Badescu for my skin and then the vitamin A cream. It works amazingly, and yes, I had really really bad skin. Hope that helps for next time!

Get a list of approved Rx from your insurance ...take that to the next appt and get him to prescribe off of that.

Good Luck!

I am seriously mad too. My doctor charged me 300 more then what he billed the insurance company for.

When I took dd to get her cast they told me I had to pay all of the cost of the visit up front because I hadn't met my deductible. They charged me 500. But I just got a statement from my insurance company the office only submitted a bill for 209.00. What the heck is that all about? Anyways my insurance assured me I will get a refund of 300 but heck i didn't have that money to part with to begin with.

I've found my pharmacist to be extremely helpful. My doc gave me a script for an allergy med. I was stunned by the cost when I picked it up, at which point the pharmacist told me the OTC version was prescription strength and the drug store's generic brand was on sale. I bought four months worth for less than the one month prescript version.

Also, I've found ordering drugs from Canada online to be a cost savings in some instances. For example, I was on Zyrtec (allergy), and no generic was available in the U.S. It was available, however, OTC in Canada. I bought 96 tablets of the generic OTC in Canada for what a 30-day supply would have cost with the U.S. prescription. I tend to use canadapharmacy.com.

Finally, you can also save money if your insurance offers a mail-delivery of prescription drugs. This is ideal for maintenance drugs, like birth control, allergies, etc.

Well I hate that that happened to you. I go to CVS now and I love them. They gave me a name brand the other day because they were out of the generic and I was only charged the gneric copay.