I hate insurance companies! (female...paps)

EnzoLeya

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Lucky for me I'm still on my mom's insurance till I graduate in 2010. Unluckily she changed job locations and works with a big hospital.....a Catholic one. I've been on birth control for 3 years and about every three months my insurance company will refuse to pay for my birth control. They ALWAYS have a reason, my birthday was wrong, I'm not in school anymore (I've been in school since 05), my last name isn't right, I'm not old enough, blah blah blah. Then I have to fight all their claims and pay for the birth control out of pocket till it gets sorted out, $56!!!!

Well now, my script ran out and I can't get a pap done until EXACTLY one year after last years. Of COURSE my prescription runs out a month before I can get an appointment and get insurance to pay for it. It makes me so mad! I know Catholic's don't believe in birth control but I do!!!! I even have to get an excuse from my doctor saying that I need birth control for medical reasons once a year.
Would they rather me have a baby out of wedlock and pay for all of those bills?!


I just had to rant. I now have to get a new doctor to do my pap test because last year I went to my old doctor and it cost me $250 without insurance!
I'm so nervous about going to a new doctor for that sort of stuff!
 

epona

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Bloomin heck! It's difficult to imagine such a palaver, we get free birth control here, and to think I was moaning that I have to take half a day off work every six months to get my blood pressure taken so I can stay on the pill!

I can't offer any advice for your situation, but I hope you get it sorted ok.
 

zorana_dragonky

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That is ridiculous! I hate insurance companies. That is so stupid!!!
I hope you get everything sorted out okay!

I don't have health insurance (can't really get it), and I used Planned Parenthood for birth control because they help folks who can't pay for things themselves, and even when you do have to pay (and I do) they are affordable. My annual exam and PAP is about $60, and my birth control pills are $21 a month.

Maybe you should give Planned Parenthood a try? It is perfectly safe and highly regulated, and the nurses and doctor at my clinic are very nice and sympathetic. They appreciate that I am a young married woman who is not having children because I am not in a financial or social position to do so. Like them, I wish more people (like you!) would protect themselves from having babies, in or out of wedlock, when it isn't fair to the child.

@ Epona - I wish we got free birth control! One more bonus to the UK health care system.
 

starryeyedtiger

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I've soo been there!!

My advice to you- call your doctor and explaine the situation briefly to them. Ask them if they have some samples they could give you. My OBGYN is amazing- she ALWAYS gives me free samples of my prescription!!! Last time I went in she gave me enough for six months- call your doctor hon- they might be able to give you some free samples of your prescription while you get this sorted out!
 

emrldsky

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Even if your Dr. can't give you free samples, they should be able to write another prescription for the next month or two until your pap date. This happens SO frequently. Also, when you do go in for your yearly, ask your Dr. to write the prescription based on the date, not the number of refills. That way, you can get refills up to the date of your next pap time. My last Dr. did this and it was great.
It keeps you from having too many headaches over it.
 

natalie_ca

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Originally Posted by StarryEyedTiGeR

I've soo been there!!

My advice to you- call your doctor and explaine the situation briefly to them. Ask them if they have some samples they could give you. My OBGYN is amazing- she ALWAYS gives me free samples of my prescription!!! Last time I went in she gave me enough for six months- call your doctor hon- they might be able to give you some free samples of your prescription while you get this sorted out!
Excellent advice
 

jellybella

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Originally Posted by StarryEyedTiGeR

I've soo been there!!

My advice to you- call your doctor and explaine the situation briefly to them. Ask them if they have some samples they could give you. My OBGYN is amazing- she ALWAYS gives me free samples of my prescription!!! Last time I went in she gave me enough for six months- call your doctor hon- they might be able to give you some free samples of your prescription while you get this sorted out!
This would be my advice exactly. When I go in for my annual they always give me samples in case I can't get in before the Rx runs out. At the very least they can write you an Rx for one or two packs to tide you over. I would be very surprised if they can't give you samples, especially if you're on a popular brand.
 

calico2222

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I agree, call your doctor. I don't think your mom working for a Catholic hopsital is what is causing the problem, it's just the insurance company being a pain. My insurance only pays for 1 pap and exam a year; I think that's common. I agree your doctor will probably either write you another prescription or give you samples to get you through another month.
 

tara g

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That's horrible the insurance company is acting that way. My insurance pays a whopping $12 towards my birth control, and it is still $50.52/month! Last time I went to the gyno she gave me a free sample of my BC (1 months worth). Maybe you can get your Dr. to give you some samples, especially with the way the insurance co. is acting. They also wrote me an extra script so I could get another month's worth of pills because my exam was coming up a few days AFTER the last pill in my last pack! I was getting married that week, so I had to have those


Luckily my paps are covered fully. My ins. isnt the best, but it does have SOME perks. Hopefully you get it all worked out!
 
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EnzoLeya

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Originally Posted by Epona

Bloomin heck! It's difficult to imagine such a palaver, we get free birth control here, and to think I was moaning that I have to take half a day off work every six months to get my blood pressure taken so I can stay on the pill!

I can't offer any advice for your situation, but I hope you get it sorted ok.
Oh my goodness you get free birth control!!! I want to live in England!!!


Originally Posted by zorana_dragonky

That is ridiculous! I hate insurance companies. That is so stupid!!!
I hope you get everything sorted out okay!

I don't have health insurance (can't really get it), and I used Planned Parenthood for birth control because they help folks who can't pay for things themselves, and even when you do have to pay (and I do) they are affordable. My annual exam and PAP is about $60, and my birth control pills are $21 a month.

Maybe you should give Planned Parenthood a try? It is perfectly safe and highly regulated, and the nurses and doctor at my clinic are very nice and sympathetic. They appreciate that I am a young married woman who is not having children because I am not in a financial or social position to do so. Like them, I wish more people (like you!) would protect themselves from having babies, in or out of wedlock, when it isn't fair to the child.

@ Epona - I wish we got free birth control! One more bonus to the UK health care system.
I've actually tried planned parenthood! They charged me $110 for the exam and $20 a month for birth control. It's cheaper for me to use my mom's insurance even though it's a pain and doesn't cover as well as her last insurance company.



Originally Posted by StarryEyedTiGeR

I've soo been there!!

My advice to you- call your doctor and explaine the situation briefly to them. Ask them if they have some samples they could give you. My OBGYN is amazing- she ALWAYS gives me free samples of my prescription!!! Last time I went in she gave me enough for six months- call your doctor hon- they might be able to give you some free samples of your prescription while you get this sorted out!
I actually did get a hold of her and got another month's prescription. I still have to call a new doctor and set everything up. Hopefully she will be awesome and give me some free samples!

Originally Posted by emrldsky

Even if your Dr. can't give you free samples, they should be able to write another prescription for the next month or two until your pap date. This happens SO frequently. Also, when you do go in for your yearly, ask your Dr. to write the prescription based on the date, not the number of refills. That way, you can get refills up to the date of your next pap time. My last Dr. did this and it was great.
It keeps you from having too many headaches over it.
My regular doctor gave me free samples of other meds, but my gyno doctor never offered any


Originally Posted by calico2222

I agree, call your doctor. I don't think your mom working for a Catholic hopsital is what is causing the problem, it's just the insurance company being a pain. My insurance only pays for 1 pap and exam a year; I think that's common. I agree your doctor will probably either write you another prescription or give you samples to get you through another month.
I'm almost positive it's because they are Catholic. To get a hold of the insurance company I have to call the hospital and talk to the woman in charge. Last time I talked to her, I was extremely upset because I didn't have an extra $56 dollars and I told her I didn't like the fact her company was trying to push their religion on me and tell me I couldn't get the meds my doctor prescribed. She said that wasn't true and then when I asked her why I've been having troubles every other time I went and that my last insurance company had no problem with it she didn't have much to say
Oh, other than I need to be sure that my doctor sends them a letter stating that I need birth control for medical reasons, not just to have sex


Originally Posted by Tara & Rob

That's horrible the insurance company is acting that way. My insurance pays a whopping $12 towards my birth control, and it is still $50.52/month! Last time I went to the gyno she gave me a free sample of my BC (1 months worth). Maybe you can get your Dr. to give you some samples, especially with the way the insurance co. is acting. They also wrote me an extra script so I could get another month's worth of pills because my exam was coming up a few days AFTER the last pill in my last pack! I was getting married that week, so I had to have those


Luckily my paps are covered fully. My ins. isnt the best, but it does have SOME perks. Hopefully you get it all worked out!
Oh my goodness! I'm glad that got sorted out for you! Your wedding night would NOT have been fun. Just a bunch of worrying! Hopefully my new doc will be willing to give me free samples!
 

alleygirl

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I never understood why they write your prescription for 12 months worth of bc, when everyone knows you have more than 12 periods in one year
They should write it for 13 or 14 refills instead.
 

emrldsky

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Originally Posted by AlleyGirl

I never understood why they write your prescription for 12 months worth of bc, when everyone knows you have more than 12 periods in one year
They should write it for 13 or 14 refills instead.
Mine writes the prescription for the date, not number of refills. For example, my prescription says "999 refills before [date]."
 
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EnzoLeya

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Originally Posted by AlleyGirl

I never understood why they write your prescription for 12 months worth of bc, when everyone knows you have more than 12 periods in one year
They should write it for 13 or 14 refills instead.
No kidding!

Originally Posted by emrldsky

Mine writes the prescription for the date, not number of refills. For example, my prescription says "999 refills before [date]."
Maybe I'll talk to my new doctor about that when I go in! That would make everything much easier!
 
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