I think I know how the health insurance companies are going to make up for having to cover people and things that they didn't have to before. My visit to the pharmacy today was, well, shocking.
I have been on the same meds to control pain for years. After much experimentation, my doctor and I found one that doesn't give me all kinds of side effects and still reduces the pain enough for me to function. I have been paying an $8 co-pay for it every month, including last month. Imagine my surprise when I walked in today and was told that the bill was $150+ !!! "Excuse me?" I said. "How can that be?"
The tech called the Blues and was told that that med is no longer listed as generic, therefore I have to pay a deductible, plus a $50 co-pay. All I can figure out is that they removed the generic version from their formulary, so that even if my bottle contains generic drugs (it does!), it's treated like a brand-name Rx. The kicker is that our insurance period ends in June and I'll owe the deductible again! Now, I can't afford a $50 monthly Rx, let alone deductibles every couple of months. OTOH, the company is making out like crazy. They want two deductibles in short order, plus more than six times the money for the same damned thing I've been taking all along.
I haven't even begun to really pursue this yet, but wondered if anyone else has experienced something like this. I'm still shaking, both from fury and worry. I'm never pain-free, but the meds help me function enough to work and live, sort of. This kind of stress isn't exactly good for a person...