Monday, April 1, 2013

Sign Up for the Rite Aid Wellness+ Program

I've spent massive amounts on Rx drug costs the last few years. At around $220 a month out of pocket for Balsalazide, it's a little hard to swallow. If you spend alot every year at the pharmacy, I can recommend Rite Aid. Sign up for their wellness+ program and you'll reach a point where they give you a $10 credit for spending in the store with each prescription, and get 20% off so it makes things seem like grocery store prices.

I bought over $10 worth of toiletries the other day and I just had to pay a small amount in taxes. There is an upside to paying through the nose for prescription drugs! If you use another pharmacy check to see if their program is as good as Rite-Aid. I am with Express Scripts so Walgreens was out. After signing up make sure you tell the employee ringing you up that you are in the program, sometimes they forget to ask.

Saturday, March 30, 2013

USA High Risk Pools and Pre-existing Conditions

Some states have insurance companies that will insure you even if you have the dreaded 'pre-existing condition' that gets you rejected outright from so many others. Blue Cross and Humana turned me down, as well as a few others.

I like the high risk pools because they are not government programs so they don't preclude you from some discounts that pharmaceutical companies offer for their medicines. As private businesses they are more efficient and work harder to keep your business, governments naturally have little incentive in that regard. Some are pricey but that seems to be part of the game in the US. My premium is over $200 a month.

A tip : if you know your preexisting condition will be long term (years) and expensive and you go with one of these programs, get one of the lower deductibles. I learned this the hard way but wanted to share since others could save thousands of dollars this way. The premium will be higher but you will hit your deductible sooner for benefits to kick in. Companies won't let you lower your deductible in following years so you have to choose a low one right from the start.

Many states have high risk pools, check them out as NASCHIP. I'm broke because of my medical situation but it'd be an absolute nightmare without insurance. Medical bills were a factor in my relocation, check to see if there's a company in your state that can help before you move out.

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Too much!

I'm not so sure nationalized health care is the answer. The market needs to control some of the outcome, so some of our brightest minds get into the field. But as my exorbitant insurance premium has to be paid every month and I get stacks of crippling medical bills for UC, I am sure the US system hasn't figured it out yet either.
Why am I sometimes charged 2x to 4x ( ! ) what something should really cost for medical care? There is simply way too much paperwork and legal issues causing more paperwork than there should be. I am glad major news media is bringing more attention to this subject. It made the cover of TIME, with this accompanying article. I've taken way too many bitter pills recently.