started taking lexapro and it has been giving me insomnia... so i got a script for ambien. script says "60 5mg pills"... so i go to the pharmacy, and am told that my insurance only covers $10 worth... which means i am given 10 5mg pills with one refill as a 30 day supply for a $10 copay. even taking ONE a day, that still one adds up to 20 pills for a 30 day period... and i'm supposed to be taking two. wtf? without insurance, getting the full prescription, would cost me over $130... and i can't afford that right now. this sucks. i hate US healthcare.
don't worry soon you usa people will be getting your hospitals nationalised. (how ever you spell it) free health care for all!!
haha...it still sucks, though. i mean, i just don't understand it... did insurance companies somehow decide that i only have insomnia 10 nights in a month, and no more? that if it helps for 10 nights, the other 20 will be fine too? i can't see why they don't just have a system where they just accept a certain medication and fuckin' give you what the doctor suggests... i don't understand this "partial coverage" thing... it's just totally senseless.
ROFL so i just looked at my medical insurance "terms"... and ambien is on a "limited dispension" list or something... so only ten pills a month can be given even though my doctor wrote for sixty... BUT i can get a doctor to tell them it's medically necessary that i be allowed more than that. uhhhhh... isn't that the idea of a prescription in the first place? a doctor wrote it, if they didn't think i needed it they wouldn't have written it... this is the most convoluted system of bullshit... i had no idea health insurance was this bad. getting to be an adult really sucks
that's fine, it's not even the cost that i'm so much concerned about (although that DOES suck ) it's more the idea that they just want to give me 10 pills for a 30 day supply... that doesn't make any sense whatsoever. I'm supposed to take two nightly... even taking one nightly that just makes no sense. AND that they need an "authorization" from the doctor if i want to get an ACTUAL months supply... isn't the prescription itself the authorization? that just seems redundant to me. if the script says "60 5mg ambien, 2 nightly" then wtf do they think, the doctor doesn't *actually* mean it, they're just playing around? so annoying.
Take a trip to canada... =) Lol. USA is never going to nationalise the health service. In fact, it's illegal for the USA to use it's huge buying power to negotiate any pharmaceuticals, as this would make the private companies "unable" to compete. So you've got Private health care written into the law, supporting higher drug prices, as to not put the private institution's profit margins down. God bless America.
There are decent arguments against nationalizing health care. The main one, for me, is that I'm not interested in having the government controlling my health care. But I live in Canada, so I'm SOL in that case anyway.
Why? It just creates health care that has a set national budget that must be stretched out. Government dictates exactly what treatments should go for what. A fully nationalized system like the NHS where no kind of co pay or deductible what so ever is paid leads to people going to the doctor for every single cough they have and gigantic waiting lists for non emergency treatment. The actual fact is most countries with universal health care, Germany, Netherlands, France among others use private insurers to provide universal coverage with government subsides, ect.
First off, although the NHS has its faults, I have never had issues with waiting lists for any treatment. From the local doctors for Antibiotics through to emergency treatment at an Emergency department. I think that although maybe 100% Nationalisation of the US Health service may not be on everybody’s wish list, surely we can see the sensibility in allow the government to use its buying power on a global scale to negotiate drug prices etc is a good thing. All the countries you mentioned operate on this basis, to ensure distribution of drugs are plentiful and cheap. This is not the case in the US, making it one of the least efficient services in the 1st World.
It seems that the rights of the drug companies and insurances companies to make profit are prioritised well above your right for good, easily accessible health care.
The NHS has huge wait lists, it's not just an American stereotype, it's a political issue that comes up on the BBC constantly. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6234523.stm Average 13 weeks, about a week is the average waiting time most people in the US consider a wait. And American health care ranks high on numerous things: http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-m...-viral-video-mocks-us-37th-best-health-care-/ For example: And for choice we can't be beat.
I wish I had health insurance. Nope. Just have to suffer at home with my cold/cough/flu, my jaw pain, my cavities in my back molars, and running out of Cymbalta because I don't have a psychiatrist at the moment or any way to pay one even if I found a doctor.
i agree letmesleep. maybe if i had health insurance i could have gotten my prescription for zoloft filled today. but i understand what you are saying cherokeemist, that is quite annoying that they would only pay for 10 days worth, requiring additional authorization from your dr. for the rest of the script, when the script itself should have been all the authorization you need.
