The Monthly Test Strips Fight
Every month it’s the same story. Every month it’s the same irritation. Every month, I continue to do the same thing. This is sounding sadly familiar. And worse is the nagging saying in my head:
If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got
And even more worse is that I don’t change. I’ve even got several options to change, but I don’t change.
So here’s the deal. I need 300 test strips a month, I’m supposed to check my blood 10 times a day. Most days I get that many, sometimes I get less, sometimes I get more. The insurance company will only auto-approve 200 test strips. So every month when it’s time for me to get more test strips I have to inform the stupid people at Walgreens of their job because they can’t just do it the first time around.
Here’s what happens. They try to run the prescription through and it gets denied. It gets denied because I need more test strips than are auto approved.
I get a call and an email saying that my prescription can’t be refilled and that they’re trying to contact my insurance company. Which is bull crap because I don’t think they really make that call because if they did they’d be able to refill that prescription in less than 48 hrs.
I think what they do is wait for me to come in 24-36 hrs after I’ve called in my prescription and tell them how to do it. And when I have to tell them, it’s usually the same people. Now granted, it’s very possible that they were not the people that were there when I called it in. I realize that the pharmacy fills 10s of thousands of prescriptions a month but if 5 out of the 30 or so people can remember how to get my prescription to go through the first time, why can’t the others get it through their head?
Now, my choices.
I could move to another pharmacy but then I’d have to train them and I already know Walgreens system, all they have to do there is a manual override #2. If I’ve got to train people I might as well hope that one day a light bulb will turn on in the current idiot’s heads.
I could receive them mail order. This isn’t really a problem at all, it would actually be convenient but I’ve found a way to circumvent my insurance and get more than 12 refills a year. I’ve figured out how to get 14, and thus I don’t get 3600 strips a year, I get 4200 a year. It’s for this same reason that I don’t get my strips shipped with my pump supplies.
Now, it’s very possible that this is very normal and that I haven’t figured out how to game my insurance but have just discovered something very regular. To get my prescriptions filled every 25 days instead of every 30. And this is why I deal with the bull crap of having to tell Walgreens employees monthly how to do their job (unless I get my favorite person that’s been taking care of me for 20 years or a handful of others; and yes I do speak to people when I call and tell them how to do it ahead of time and they neglect to make a note, mental or otherwise).
4 Responses to “The Monthly Test Strips Fight”
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My mother has diabetes and so I know what it is like. She got diagnosed wheen she was older. There are no pre diabetes. You either have it or not. It can be managed without insulin if you eat right and exercise. My husband is diabetic also and he only has to take glucophage. Diabetes is a horrible disease for which I am thankful I do not have. I really feel for anyone that does it. I work as a nurse and we talk about our patients being non compliant with their diet but personally I don’t know if I could or not if I had diabetes. Good luck and keep on track
I am reading your post raising my hand saying “been there done that”. My hubby thinks Walgreens must be the worst place on earth to get prescriptions filled. It took us months to finally get all 300 test strips. Seems like we hold our breath with every prescription!! Sometimes we’ll talk to one “idiot” (as my hubby puts it) in the evening who will deny the prescription, then in the morning we’ll get one that puts it through in less than 30 seconds!! Go figure!!!
Your every 25 day thing is genius….we’ll have to give it a try!!!
I know that one!
So every month I hand in a printed letter: “how to deal with this prescription”. With the date.
I also state that I’m out of town, but I can be reached by email, in case questions pop-up.
I print their email, and print the answer.
Each month I do the same.
Add it to the bundle that goes with the prescription, stating in a yellow note, that most questions they have are adressed in the bundle.
When the bundle was 10 pages. I asked them to make a copy and keep it for reference.
I did this each month.
Finally they realised that all they had to do was make a note in the computer stating that my insurance pays for so many strips and I pay for the rest myself. (Ugh!)
It works now……
Good luck!
[...] the pharmacy and I think the insurance companies changed something so my reasons for putting up the monthly test strip fight have become a moot [...]