My life changed when I finally started getting treated for A.D.D. two years ago. With medication and therapy, I can now focus my attention on one task at a time. The first 40 years of my life were all over the place. I’ve written and am revising a book, something which would have been impossible before then.
When I went to pick up my monthly prescription this week, the Rx assistant rang it up as $51.05.
“That can’t be right,” I contested.
She double-checked and it was; ODS has upped the price. I last got the prescription in June and needed a two-month supply since I was going to be out of the country. Two month’s worth cost me $16. One month is now $51.05. That’s a 638% increase in price. My prescription is a generic.
When I spoke with the ODS employee on the phone, it seemed as though she wanted to apologize, but probably has been trained not to. “There are some generics that the company now considers to be preferred. Your drug is one of them.”
On October 1, the cost of my monthly insurance increases to $866.86 for me and my partner. Luckily, my employer subsidizes that. The plan does not include dental nor vision. That’s extra, of course.
So the cost of insurance increases, drugs are reclassed, and if I examine my plan closely, I bet I’ve lost some benefits too. What a world!
Luckily, I can afford the $600 per year for medicine to increase my productivity. Not everyone is as lucky. And you can bet the insurance execs don’t give a shit.
Whew, so glad health care reform will straighten all that out.
Oh wait, that’s right: it won’t.
As someone with probably a touch of ADD, I sympathize with your plight. Not enough to hold a rock concert benefit, but I might play a song on my guitar while watching TV.
We should do beer again, btw.
Hi, Alan: Someone forwarded me your post about your problem with your prescription. Sounds like a hassle. Not sure that I can help in any way . . . but let me know if you think I can try.
Jonathan Nicholas
Vice President, ODS Health
Thanks Mr. Nicholas, but I’m not sure what you’re offering. I’d like to know how ODS can indiscriminately turn my generic prescription into the preferred category. Do you have an explanation?