Night Elf Posted February 12, 2018 Share Posted February 12, 2018 Our Kaiser policy changes slightly every year. Apparently this year our prescriptions are more expensive. Dd just went to pick up one and it was $270 for a one month supply. The doctor isn't a Kaiser doctor, but he's an affiliate. She called his office and the lady she spoke with said she needed a copay card and it would reduce the price. What on earth is a copay card? Is that something given out by the insurance company? I've never heard of anything like that with Kaiser. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted February 12, 2018 Share Posted February 12, 2018 I actually thought copay cards were if one didn't have insurance. That's a sucky price. Wow 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pawz4me Posted February 12, 2018 Share Posted February 12, 2018 (edited) Some drug manufacturers offer a card for particular medicines that enable you to pay a lower co-pay. For example, one medicine I was on a few years ago would have cost about $90 a month using just our insurance. But with the manufacturer's card I got it for $25 a month. Sometimes the doctor's office will provide one when a medication is prescribed and sometimes you can go to the drug maker's website and sign up for it. It's essentially a discount card that's available to anyone for whom the medication is prescribed. My doc's take on it was that the drug manufacturer wants to encourage more insurance plans to cover the medication (or cover it for a lower co-pay) so they offer the cards to make the drug more affordable for people to use, and then people will let their insurance companies know they want the drug covered. Now I personally don't believe in the power of public opinion to sway big insurance companies, but that was his opinion. Edited February 12, 2018 by Pawz4me 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Elf Posted February 12, 2018 Author Share Posted February 12, 2018 I just checked with the Kaiser pharmacy and they don't accept the copay card for her medication. So that's out. Her doctor is going to have to put her on a cheaper medication. We simply cannot afford $270/month! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rachel Posted February 12, 2018 Share Posted February 12, 2018 I just checked with the Kaiser pharmacy and they don't accept the copay card for her medication. So that's out. Her doctor is going to have to put her on a cheaper medication. We simply cannot afford $270/month!Do you have to use that pharmacy? Drug prices can vary greatly between pharmacies. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bootsie Posted February 12, 2018 Share Posted February 12, 2018 Is it possible that you have a deductible for prescriptions that you have to meet before a lower copay sets in? If that is the case, you may be paying a higher price at the beginning of the year until your deductible is met. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Elf Posted February 12, 2018 Author Share Posted February 12, 2018 I just checked GoodRX and the cheapest they could find it was $1,256 for a 30-day supply. That's crazy! Dd has been on this for a while and both of us know we have never paid hundreds of dollars for it. We'd remember that!! I wish I knew what we did pay the last time. That way I could at least see how much it has gone up. I don't know about deductibles. I have Kaiser and I'm just used to paying what I need to pay when they ask for payment. My copays for doctor visits never change and my prescription meds are usually fairly cheap. This has just really taken us off guard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted February 12, 2018 Share Posted February 12, 2018 Have you checked the price at other pharmacies? Costco will give a discount if you don't have rx coverage. (And they don't aka kaiser, so you can use it. ) I was prescribed one that was over $200 at the hospital pharmacy, and about $70 at costco. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted February 12, 2018 Share Posted February 12, 2018 Some drugs are having availability problems. Others have had their prices double or more. I've had to change brands on several things the last four months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrixieB Posted February 12, 2018 Share Posted February 12, 2018 Is this the first time you have tried to fill that specific prescription this year? Kaiser may have changed its drug formulary- meaning that particular medication could be in a higher cost tier this year. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted February 13, 2018 Share Posted February 13, 2018 Kaiser may have changed its drug formulary- meaning that particular medication could be in a higher cost tier this year. I suspect this is what's going on. You may be able to appeal the medication being listed as "non-preferred". Ask your doctor for help. I did that with the birth control patch back when we had Kaiser. Kaiser was pushing daily pills but I told my gynecologist that I had better compliance with the weekly patch and she was able to get some sort of waiver put into the system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Elf Posted February 13, 2018 Author Share Posted February 13, 2018 Is this the first time you have tried to fill that specific prescription this year? Kaiser may have changed its drug formulary- meaning that particular medication could be in a higher cost tier this year. See my previous post where I checked with GoodRX and the cheapest 30-day supply in my city is $1,245 or something. So we got off easy with only $270. I think something is going on with the drug itself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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