- Joined
- Nov 5, 2009
- Messages
- 14,209
- Reason
- Lost a loved one
- Diagnosis
- 00/0000
- Country
- US
- State
- WA
- City
- Seattle
For those who missed it, as of Thursday, given the spread of COVID-19 throughout the US, CDC is now recommending that everyone 60+ or otherwise at high risk (which obviously includes P/CALS) basically avoid contact with people outside your home. These are the same precautions that those of us in outbreak states have been practicing for a while now.
Also, the part about ordering up on meds is real. Some states, health plans and pharmacies are waiving usual restrictions on 30-day limits for reimbursement, if/as they exist, so check your sites. Often you may have a 30-day limit for retail and a 90-day limit for mail order, for reimbursement. But if you have an active script covering the next 90 days, you can at worst pay cash to stock up.
A cautionary tale: it took me a week and a half to get a refill (I paid cash for an extra 60 days so I could have a 90 day supply) on what is normally a very common rx drug that pre-pandemic, I would get the next day. This time, even after that 10 days, the pharmacy's supplier had to cobble together tabs from multiple manufacturers. I've got pills in cotton inside a bottle that is too big, because they also ran out of size-specific bottles. Not all drugs are at risk for supply disruption, but some are, and more are likely to be. Also, distributors and wholesalers' staff will get sick, too, along with truck drivers, etc.
So not to be alarming, but REFILL NOW!!! You can get reimbursed for at least a 30-day refill if the bottle you are on is 65-75% gone, depending on your plan. Try your mail order first if you have one. If mail order isn't working, try another one or retail. If you end up paying cash for any reason (usually not much for generics in particular), including that your refill is "too soon," obviously it doesn't matter if the pharmacy is in your network or not.
Re shopping for groceries and household essentials, there is very little you can't buy on line these days. Post here if you need help. Also, Medicare has relaxed requirements for telemedicine visits.
Hoping everyone stays virus-free...
--Laurie
Also, the part about ordering up on meds is real. Some states, health plans and pharmacies are waiving usual restrictions on 30-day limits for reimbursement, if/as they exist, so check your sites. Often you may have a 30-day limit for retail and a 90-day limit for mail order, for reimbursement. But if you have an active script covering the next 90 days, you can at worst pay cash to stock up.
A cautionary tale: it took me a week and a half to get a refill (I paid cash for an extra 60 days so I could have a 90 day supply) on what is normally a very common rx drug that pre-pandemic, I would get the next day. This time, even after that 10 days, the pharmacy's supplier had to cobble together tabs from multiple manufacturers. I've got pills in cotton inside a bottle that is too big, because they also ran out of size-specific bottles. Not all drugs are at risk for supply disruption, but some are, and more are likely to be. Also, distributors and wholesalers' staff will get sick, too, along with truck drivers, etc.
So not to be alarming, but REFILL NOW!!! You can get reimbursed for at least a 30-day refill if the bottle you are on is 65-75% gone, depending on your plan. Try your mail order first if you have one. If mail order isn't working, try another one or retail. If you end up paying cash for any reason (usually not much for generics in particular), including that your refill is "too soon," obviously it doesn't matter if the pharmacy is in your network or not.
Re shopping for groceries and household essentials, there is very little you can't buy on line these days. Post here if you need help. Also, Medicare has relaxed requirements for telemedicine visits.
Hoping everyone stays virus-free...
--Laurie
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