June 16 – “Pharmaceutical madness”

Well, now.  Here's a topic of some interest for Americans.  We went to the pharmacy yesterday to pick up a refill of one of the medications my rheumatologist prescribed for me.  I have been taking it pretty much ever since I was diagnosed.  As I understand it, this one helps keep my stomach from rebelling at the other more aggressive medications.  The pharmacy tech pulled it out from the storage bin and started to ring it up, but then paused.  He frowned.  He mumbled one of those concerned, "Hmmm's."  One eyebrow lifted ever so slightly.  Finally he managed to arrange his thoughts enough to let us in on his dilemma.    "I don't understand why they are charging you so much for this.  Let me check," he began, as he punched his query into the computer.  It didn't take long.    "Ah.  I see.  They have decided that this is not the right medication that you should be taking.  There is no generic equivalent for it (read here cheap – my comment, not his).  It seems they want you to take one of the over-the-counter brands instead."  He then showed us what the charge would be for the medication that my doctor had prescribed – apparently mistakenly, according to the insurance company, which obviously has more medical knowledge and experience in medical and pharmaceutical matters than my doctor who has been in practice for years and is now a teacher in the Houston medical center.  I actually thought I could trust him, but then, what do I know?  I'm just an ignorant patient, after all.    After a brief chat with Chris – actually it was more one of those "looks" married people give each other where they know the answer without having to say anything – I told him we would talk to the doctor about an alternative.  He fully concurred with our decision, saying, "That's good.  Because I sure didn't want to ring you up at that amount."    So I called the doctor's office when we got home to get our name on the proverbial call-back list.  "Call backs will be made after clinic hours between 4:30 and the close of the office day."  Let's see.  It's about 7:30 the next morning and we still haven't received a call back.  That's some long office hours.   Proverbs 15:1 says, "A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger."   Father, I have learned that getting angry rarely solves problems, even when the problem is within my control.  Help me to be a gentle answer one.  Amen.