Pharmacies

[1shott]

Got the letter yesterday.

In reading the letter it references "if you live in Oklahoma". That makes me wonder if this isn't some sort of state law thing. I'll try to find out, and if I get a believable answer I'll report back.

My guess is, it's a CVS thing, and they just want to be able to charge the co-pay every thirty days instead of 90. They also say mail order is no longer an option. Have to go to a store to get them filled. I don't know about ya'll, but that sounds to me like a marketing ploy to increase revenue, and as a result profit. Also sounds like they want you "in the store" to increase the likely hood you will make an impulse purchase. They are closing stores left & right, so we know they are in trouble as a corporation. Corporations on a firm financial footing do not close retail locations, well unless you're in Portland.

All in all, it's just extremely ******. I'll be on the shop for a different pharmacy, and if I can purchase locally for at or around the same price that these changes will cause I'll purchase locally. Rotten sonsabitches.

If the resident pharmacy owner will ever respond to this thread, I'll give him an opportunity.

I have heard several excuses,

One being that OK passed a law that all medication coming into the state has to be in a container that can show it has not exposed to temperature ranges outside of the medications safe zone.


Another that it was a business decision to save money on shipping fees.


I dont know other than it sucks for the end user.

 

[1shott]

That's really interesting because when we got our insurance they REQUIRED that we get a 90 prescription for certain meds AND we HAD to use CVS or a mail order place. What a PITA...

Thats what CVS did to me years ago, they said I had no choice, now the pendulum swings the other direction and once again I have no choice LOL

 

[Waltercat]

I retired after working for the same independent pharmacy for nearly 40 years. I loved my customers, friends, coworkers I was manager and head pharmacist for most of that time but the issues that changed thru the years dealing with insurance companies, state and federal regulation/requirements drove me away. The license I worked so hard to earn and was proud to use for so long has been placed on ‘inactive’ by choice. You could not drag me back in to work at a pharmacy.

Maybe a little off topic but as a long time pharmacist would you care to comment on
whether or not todays anti-psychotics and anti depressants may or may not be having
an effect on those that are basically going mad and shooting innocents. We know it's not
just the guns. I've read studies from when these meds were first introduced years ago and they clearly showed violent tendencies from young people especially when withdrawn.
But these studies were quickly scrubbed for fear of being black balled and pressure from peer groups and big Pharma. Just like the Covid nay sayers were vanished.

 

[tynyphil]

Not that I know anything but just my gut from what I’ve personally seen. Yes I think there is a correlation. Possibly as an affect of the drugs but I think mostly due to the jump to medication in lieu of good parenting

 

[GeneW]

Here is a very good story. PBM’s Pharmacy Benefit Managers seem to be a greedy dishonest scummy bunch of peckerheads.

https://www.news9.com/story/6446e7b...akers-battle-cvs-90day-prescription-confusion

 

[jakeman]

Here is a very good story. PBM’s Pharmacy Benefit Managers seem to be a greedy dishonest scummy bunch of peckerheads.

https://www.news9.com/story/6446e7b...akers-battle-cvs-90day-prescription-confusion

Bunch of hooey.

CVS blames the legislature.

Legislature blames CVS.

In the mean time the consumer, including those on a fixed income, take it straight up the ass. Rotten sonsabitches.

I filled mine this week at CVS. 30 day supply for the same cost as a 90 day supply, in fact it might have been a few bucks more. I took the filled scripts to the local compounder and he said if my insurance will play ball with him he will fill them for the same price or cheaper if he can. I won't have to drive 30 miles round trip to get them, so that's a small victory, but my cost has effectively tripled, and maybe more.

Rotten sonsabitches.

 

[Chuckie]

- I don't have 'skin' in this game because all my scrips are filled through the VA pharmacy.
- Considering that my thinking usually strays to the outer reaches of sanity, has anyone ever thought of the possibility that the reason CVS no longer wants to fill long-range (90+ day) prescriptions is because they (CVS) don't want to have to stock the larger quantities of drugs required to meet those larger refills.
- Probably just a cost-cutting reason (less storage space needed) or it could be that they are having problems procuring larger amounts of certain drugs from overseas, so is deciding to cut ALL long-range prescriptions instead of only a few, which the supply of could change at any time depending on the supplier.
- Another possibility is that if things should go belly-up, then they won't be stuck with a HUGE supply of drugs they can no longer peddle to the [now] destitute masses. Which means (for CVS heiarchy) less money spent on lost product, means more money in or pockets.

 

[TerryMiller]

My experience with CVS is that they were always wanting to fill my prescriptions without my consent. Then the one time that I did consent, they have me a 30 day supply instead of the prescribed 90 day supply. My two prescriptions used to both come due at the same time. Now, the one is off from the other by about 3 or 4 weeks, forcing me to make two trips to get refills.

We gave up CVS for Walmart quite some time ago.

 

[38Super]

This whole thing is confusing as can be. We have Aetna through work and have to use CVS / Caremark for maintenance scripts. I just received two just last week.

 

[SoonerP226]

so is deciding to cut ALL long-range prescriptions instead of only a few

I use CVS (CVS/Caremark is our drug pushe...err, prescription drug coverage provider), and my prescriptions are still coming in 90 day refills.