"I don't want government to come between me and my doctor"

[question everything]

they say. And, on occasions, Obama remembers to retort back: now the insurance company does.

Yesterday was a report on CNN, I think, how pharmacists sometimes switch a brand name drug to a generic one on the insurance company's orders, without first checking with the doctor or telling the patient. The specific case was about epilepsy with the substitute causing a bad reaction.

[YOY]

1. "Because I want a corporate entitiy that has only profits in mind to come between me and my doctor."

Why are they so afraid that a Government run system (which ALREADY work better) over someone whose motivations are known and blatant?

Cuz da gubmint is teh evul unless dey protektin us!

We are a nation of morons if we fail here.

[SemiCharmedQuark]

2. My doctor prescribed me a drug. Then he stopped and said "wait, you don't have insurance, right?"

And I shook my head no. So he CHANGED the drug he was going to prescribe to a combination of 3 generics that I could afford. You don't need to have insurance for insurance to come between you and your doctor.

[question everything]

3. That was the conclusion. For the pharmacist to at least call the doctor

and let him decide.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

4. In Britain the government NEVER came between the doctor and me

the only thing the government did was pay the doctor! The health insurance is more likely to intervene than a government because they are hellbent on PROFIT!!!

[SemiCharmedQuark]

5. That's what my British hubby says.

He's never had a problem with his healthcare. It's the reason that he won't become a citizen. He wants to keep his healthcare.

[dave29]

6. I got a letter from Cigna today recommending a specific blood test. No joke.

see my thread:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x6179871

[dflprincess]

12. And after you have the test -

they'll deny the claim.

[subterranean]

7. The government doesn't get involved in individual medical decisions

When I lived in Japan (which has national health insurance), I used the health care system infrequently, but never at any time did I have to deal with the government, except when I paid my premiums. There were no government officials examining the doctor's prescribed treatment and deciding whether or not they would pay for it. I had free choice of doctors, and could use my public insurance at virtually any doctor (or dentist!) in the country. No deductibles, either!

[jwirr]

8. My daughter has 5 different types of epilepsy and has never been

totally in control with any medication. For years BlueCross/BlueShield administered Medical Assistance for Minnesota and worked with her case. They were familiar with all decisions made regarding her care. So along comes georgies Part D. They insisted that we use the generic Dilan tin even though we had already tried it and it had caused more seizures than the regular Dilan tin. The doctor, the social worker, the pharmacist and I all told them what would happen but the forced us to put her through trials a second time. This is a woman who has at least 6 seizures a week and they forced her to use the generic for a month in order to prove that it would not work - this was the second trial for the same insurance company. Money is the bottom line.

[morillon]

9. The pharmacist has done that to me a few times.

My endocrinologist HATES the generic levothyroxine because the concentration varies so wildly from batch to batch, and he and his staff will only prescribe brand name Synthroid. They hate the generic so much they will talk your ear off if you ask about it. My prescription always says "brand medically necessary." A few times, the pharmacy has pulled a switcheroo and given me the generic, and I have to take the bottle back to the pharmacy and tell them to fix it.

It happened again this week, and I called the pharmacy to complain. When I mentioned the part about the doctor ordering the name brand specifically, the pharmacist said, "Oh, yeah, I saw that on the form, but I figured you would like to save some money." (The difference is about $12 with Cigna's discounts, which I certainly don't mind paying, given the alternative.)

I said, "My doctor is adamant that none of his patients take the generic because it's crap and it causes patients' blood levels to be all over the map. I'd rather spend the money and not have my thyroid levels constantly going up and down."

He said, "Well, maybe you could just get your blood levels drawn more often and adjust your doses accordingly, and that way you could save money." (A brilliant plan -- not.)

And I said, "On Synthroid, my levels have been the same for more than five years, which was NOT the case when I was on the generic, and I'd really rather not get blood drawn and redo my prescriptions every three months, thanks very much."

What a twit!

[morillon]

11. I called my pharmacy's 800 line to complain.

After reading the OP and then comparing notes with my husband, who had also (unbeknownst to me) been on the receiving end of pressure to convert this same prescription to generic against the doctor's orders, I decided to call the corporate headquarters of the pharmacy. I said I was concerned that this pharmacist was interfering with a direct order from my doctor and that he had NO idea what went into my endocrinologist's decision.

I got a call from the pharmacy manager AND the district manager less than an hour later, and we had very pleasant, productive conversations. They apologized profusely and promised they'd talk to the pharmacist and tell him not to do that anymore. I have no idea what will actually happen, but I was glad they took these concerns seriously. I told them I really liked this pharmacy and the techs, but this one pharmacist just seemed oddly obsessed with making me take a generic.

My endo has had independent research done on the quality of various thyroid drugs and found that the concentration in generics varied as much as 20% from one batch to another, while it was very consistently on the mark in Synthroid. This kind of fluctuation isn't likely to kill someone with hypothyroidism, but it can make the disease more difficult to control. That was certainly the case with me, and I said so to these managers. I did point out, however, that monkeying around with meds for patients with more serious conditions can be life-threatening, and that doctors' orders are not to be trifled with.

I hate making formal complaints, particularly in this economy when everyone's worried about losing their jobs, and I don't take it lightly. And it wasn't even that I felt I had to stand up for MY rights. I had no doubt I would get my damn Synthroid no matter what. The thing that got me to pick up the phone was the concern that someone with a serious illness would have this ridiculous switcheroo pulled on her, and she might not realize it in time or might not know she had the option of complaining.

[donheld]

10. Unless it's about an abortion