Monday, June 28, 2010

CVS Fail

We use CVS for all of G's prescriptions. Normally I am very happy with their service, their speed and their ability to fill her prescriptions. Today was a rarity but it was a doozy.

Since going to our endo appt, I valiantly am trying to get the pump supplies she needs covered through her health insurance. There are three things I use religiously with Grace's OmniPod: SkinTac (if you have a gal who swims, you gotta have it), SkinPrep and UniSolve (to get it all off). The OmniPod sticks so well with these three things, they are essential to it's use for a young child. Grace's endo gladly wrote scripts for all three items when we were in last week. I thought I would try to get them covered, instead of ordering through American Diabetes Wholesale.

I submitted them to CVS, only to have them call me about 3 hours later and tell me they could find none of these products. I told them manufacturers, address, everything I knew about them from the box. They hung up and called me back 20 minutes later:

- They cannot locate SkinTac at all. Nothing in their system.
- They located SkinPrep, but it's discontinued. (What????)
- They ordered 2 boxes of UniSolve, they will be in tomorrow.

Ok, batting 1 for 3 here, but I go with it. Fine, I will be in tomorrow. Yippppeeee I think, they are covered under her insurance!

I go to CVS today. They are not covered by her insurance. Better yet, the box of UniSolve they did order, well, our conversation goes something like this:

Me: Oh, you got the one box in, great. Ok, it's not covered? What? Why not?
CVS gal: I am supposing because it's available over the counter, that you cannot have it covered by insurance.
Me: OK, well, I am still learning this game. Whatever, ok, I will take the one box you do have.


(I notice on the side of the box that the sticker says $12.80 for the box. I cannot for the life of me remember if that's cheaper or more expensive than when I ordered online, but when you gotta have UniSolve to get the Pod off, does it really matter the cost?)

CVS gal scans the bar code and up pops $14.99 for the box.
Me: I see it says $12.80 on the box, why did it come up $14.99?
CVS gal: Well, that must be the price we charge here.


CVS gal - while standing right in front of me - peels off the $12.80 sticker!
Me: Well, I am not paying $14.99 for them, you just peeled off the sticker! I'm paying $12.80.
CVS gal: Can I have a manager please?
Me: Are you kidding me? You peeled the sticker off right in front of me!!!!
CVS gal: ----------------------------------- (that would be utter silence)
Manager shows up. I tell him what happened.
Manager: Charge her the $12.80 and put the sticker back on the box.
CVS gal: ---------------------------------(utter silence as she checks me out)
Me on the way out: Hey there - stay cool - thanks so much, hope your day is FABULOUS!


Ok, I still love my CVS, but was this situation wacky or what???

8 comments:

phonelady said...

same problems we all encounter only different and it still sucks . LOL !!!

Heidi =) said...

Ugh! Don't get me started on pharmacy problems. We have had more in the last three months than anyone should ever have in a life time! What a weird experience for you though. We don't have a CVS close but I have heard lots of good stuff about them.

Leighann of D-Mom Blog said...

Here's how we get the adhesive to come off and it's SUPER cheap. (I was actually going to write a post about this and took pix yesterday.)

We take a Q-tip and soak the adhesive with baby oil, getting under the pod too. After about 10 minutes it dissolves the adhesive and it slides right off. Sometimes we forget about it and it soaks for half an hour.

We don't use any of those products and have had no problem with it staying stuck (even w/ nightly swim lessons).

Just give the baby oil a try a couple of times and see if that works for you. It's one of the recommendations on the OmniPod site.

And look for a post coming soon ;)

Penny said...

Leighann - Oh we have tried the baby oil route and that sucker sticks like crazy for Grace. The Unisolve sits for about a minute - they come in wipes, and VOILA - it peels off of her. We have also tried just plain alcohol then attaching, that ended when she handed me 4 pods in a week of swimming. Then we tried SkinPrep - that resulted in 1 pod lost. With SkinTac - she jumps and jumps in the pool and it doesn't move. When I talk about swimming all day, she is in the pool ALL DAY where we live - like get up in the morning and change into your suit swimming - 7+ hours some days. Then she hits the beach too and the waves. SkinTac works really well for us, we don't lose pods at all with it.
Looking forward to your posting about what you use and how you use it - more information is always better!

Pam said...

We use UniSolve too, but I never tried to have it covered under insurance. Our CVS doesn't carry it, but we have a DME Pharmacy (durable medical equipment) that does.

Can you get your prescriptions by mail? Our insurance happens to use CVS Caremark and I haven't had any issues. I heard once that more products are available through mail service, and it's cheaper.

Penny said...

Hey Pam! I've been ordering UniSolve through ADW up until now and thought I would give the ole insurance rodeo a try. You see how that ended up. I am going to try to contact my insurance company about mail order and if that would make a difference. We shall see.....
Glad you are back! We head to OCNJ on Saturday for a week. I shall post pictures to make you want to be there - hee hee hee.....

Meri said...

You are preachin' to the choir friend about the pharmacy! I'm glad you spoke up!! Us D moms have to stick to our guns!!

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