Sophia_S

...in 2001 I had a heart attack caused by sleep apnea, I was prescribed a CPAP machine which forces me to breath while I'm sleeping...anyway, a small plastic support part broke the other night,so I called my doc and he gave me a prescription for another complete headset as the part that broke has been upgraded and will no longer fit my machine.....imagine my shock when I went to pick the new headset up yesterday from my medical insurance supplier...my 20% co-pay was just over $116 and the total cost was !!!....nearly $600!!!!!!!!.........I was toatally speechless,except to say they must be kidding!,I'd found the IDENTICAL item,same brand and all online at a CPAP site for $82.99, WITHOUT INSURANCE!!.......I'm still in a state of shock!!!!!
I called my insurance company this morning and told them about it,and said would they re-imburse me anything if I went ahead and bought it myself offline,but they said no because I HAVE to buy from the 'preferred company'........what a complete rip-off??.No wonder the health industry in this country is such a mess!!!!.............sorry to end the year on such a 'bitch' note!,but I had to vent!!!!!.......Happy New Year to all...........Sophia

dan_alford

Not suprised. Same reason for the high price of tylenol in a hospital. You should just buy it from the company and save the difference

I remember an incident with "Preferred company status" in my workplace in the UK. One of our tech support guys wanted to get a memory upgrade for his laptop. The official channels quoted him 250GBP and he found the same item online for 65 GBP so got it that way and turned it in as expenses. He was called into the office and dragged over the coals for not using correct procurement channels.

Ironically, 6 months later in the middle of a cost cutting period where the company was asking for employees ideas on cutting costs, the guy decided to be a smart ass and put the suggestion in anonymously that employees should be rewarded if they can find cheaper prices that via the official channel. Yup, you guessed it, this idea became company policy, much to the chargrin of the tech guy and the amusement of his colleagues.

David Richardson

myself offline,but they said no because I HAVE to buy from the 'preferred company'........what a complete rip-off??.No wonder the health industry in this country is such a mess!!!!.............sorry to end the year on such a 'bitch' note!,but I had to vent!!!!!.......Happy New Year to all...........Sophia[/QUOTE]
Talk about a failed system. 48 million people without health care insurance, more $ spent more capita than the other industrialised countries yet we're sicker and die younger. The power lies in the hands of big Pharma, insurance co's and hospital corps.....think a Dem Congress will fix it? They might try - at least for under 18's and seniors - but the forces of the Republican Party and their big donors will spend whatever it takes to demonise and topple it. Our only hope is state legislatures in the blue areas to offer state programs.

AdobePinon

Sounds like par for the course, unfortunately. My Allegra prescription used to be a $30 co-pay. Then the generic came out, and I thought finally it's going to get cheaper (it was a $5 co-pay under my previous, cheaper, plan). Nope, now it's $45 for Allegra, and $30 for the generic. AND, the doc has to fax the insurance company a written justification of why I need it. 'Cos you know, he's really just going to tell them, "Yeah, sorry, I wrote that prescription for a laugh and he doesn't need it."

USBound

if its available in true "generic" form then surely walmart will do it for $4...

AmeriBrit05

ooooohhh completley disgusted...shame on u sound like mary whitehouse..haha even look like her too!

Sophia_S

It's just crazy!,obviously they all want to make a profit,thats fair enough,but,bloody hell,that really is taking 'profits' way into space!
Aren't those $4 generic drugs only being sold in a few States at the moment?,at least that's how I understood it...and isn't buying the indentical items at the lowest price just common sense?
Mary Whitehouse?..that name rings a bell!...wasn't she the woman who used her 'common sense'?...I'll take that as a compliment then!!! Ha!Ha!.....Oh! and I look exactly like my mum!!!(and she's not Mary Whitehouse!)....Sophia

Ray

Good morning slimey little creep ... still peddling your garbage I see ....

Sophia_S

Thanks Ray!......Sophia

gruffbrown

Can we play with this one? Can we, can we?

Ray

Of course .....

tony126

Examples like this should be sent to every Representative, State and National. It would be interesting to see the responses........if any.

Rete

This is a case where your FlexSpending Plan comes in handy. While you won't be reimbursed by the insurance company, the monies you have to expend will be tax free funds.

Sophia_S

That's exactly what I'm very tempted to do,even though it probably woudn't make the slightest difference!.......Sophia

britvic

Still here, Twat