CVS Caremark won't ship until they confirm I "really" want my meds?

Meds, Mind, Body & Benefits > Insurance, Benefits Programs & HIV

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pittman:
Due to my insurance, I have been using mail order for my meds, CVS Caremark for the last two years. It has always been smooth, on time, and refilled automatically.

Until now.

I have been playing phone tag with CVS for a couple weeks. Some robo call that says to call back with some long string of numbers, which after all finds of verification (no live person) it routed me into yet another automated message that merely said I should call some other number for more important information. (seriously!?)

So I called them, and got through an endless loop of voice menus that did not apply. I figured I was calling to late to get live people, so kept trying back. Today, I final tried just saying "operator" and it switched me to a rep.

i explained the mysterious message and the two weeks late on delivery, and after a few minutes of "reading" my file she said that they were calling because the order was expensive, and they wanted to confirm I really wanted it. She then said was going to look up the amount, and then gasped and told me it was a few bucks short of $2,000 for the order. I said of course, that was just my insurance and it was what I had been paying since my company moved to a high-deductible plan last year. She then wanted to make sure that I really wanted the meds, and that was what they did when they were going to charge the patient that much. (She was honestly in shock I think.)

Now it looks like I have to reassure them each time I have to pay a high copayment or deductible and no longer benefit from the supposed auto refill. The only site still says it's on hold to boot, so who knows when or if this will go through, as they never did this to me before.

Has anyone else had this happen, especially those using CVS Caremark? if so, this will be a real pain, and I wonder if their specialty pharmacy would be better, it looks like HIV is one of the conditions they list for that.

wolfter:
I've had mostly positive experiences from CVS's mail order process. I get the robo call every time I'm due for a refill. I always dial the same number and instantly hit "4" as a live person always answers.

They are also great with communicating with my doctor if there's an issue.

Have you considered picking them up at your local CVS pharmacy? I have the option and always decline as I LOVE the convenience of mail order. OH, and I had to switch to them because I had terrible issues with the previous mail in place. So maybe switch to a better fitting pharmacy that's available within your plans?

Relationships with pharmacies is a tricky road. It takes a while to make the best fit....kinda like dating. ;)

best of luck

Wolfie

pittman:
A call each time? Wow, I was really hoping that was just a fluke this time. I suspected that if I used the Pick Up Locally option it was still a mail order just shipped to a local store. Seems like that would be the same and just add one more level of inconvience. Did you ever try that at all?

Seems to me that their auto refill program was designed for those on long term maintenance drugs. However, forcing you to fight with some robo call system to get to someone just to confirm that you are fully aware of the money you're spending kind of takes away from the efficacy. (Salt in the wound even!) My payment history would already show I understand. Anyway, no malice involved, they just want to make sure I will pay them.

They are the only one I can use due to my employer's plan. The only other option looks like maybe their specialty pharmacy as it is still part of CVS. I hesitate to go there though as it looks like they require you to pill count and tell them how many you have left before they will ship the refills. For me, another annoyance, rather than a benefit. I just thought they may be more sensitive to how important actually getting the meds in my hands would be, and make sure it happened.

RapidRod:
I've always had CVS Caremark since being on meds and in 8 years only had one problem where it was sent my mail instead of Fedx or UPS and it was corrected overnite and it was delivered on a Saturday by UPS.

Ann:

--- Quote from: pittman on January 26, 2014, 09:08:58 am ---
The only other option looks like maybe their specialty pharmacy as it is still part of CVS. I hesitate to go there though as it looks like they require you to pill count and tell them how many you have left before they will ship the refills. For me, another annoyance, rather than a benefit. I just thought they may be more sensitive to how important actually getting the meds in my hands would be, and make sure it happened.

--- End quote ---

If you can currently order your meds well in advance of running out, perhaps you could build up a month or two stockpile before switching to the specialist pharmacy so it's not such a worry about running out. Of course this wouldn't help you much down the line if you have to change your combo.

If you stockpile, make sure you always use the meds with the oldest use-by date first.

What a nightmare - you have my empathy.

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