I'm newly unemployed, health insurance gone, and Rite Aid has just tossed me the biggest live saver.

[Skip Intro]

I'm looking at a bleak reality.

I recently got laid off from my job of five years. The company, a local company, that provided health care with an employee contribution, closed stores right and left recently, the one I managed closed June 30. The company, what was left of it, ceased providing any health care to the remaining employees, therefore, COBRA, not that I could afford it, wasn't even an option. It's been a month.

I started receiving unemployment compensation for the first time in over thirty years of working two weeks ago. It covers about all but about $1000 a month of my monthly bills. With the money I have stowed away, I can make it through till the end of the year if I'm careful.

Just for background, I'm single, and three years ago bought a house for $133,000. It was a fixed rate, but 100% financing, with an 80% loan from one lender and a 20% loan from a second lender. Both are "interest only" loans, and, as I worked on commission, were "no doc" loans. I know some here will say I made my bed and should lie in it, mortgage wise, but the market was going up up up when I bought, and the area was "hot" and I planned on refinancing after three years or so. Well, here I am three years later, with a mortgage I can't afford, no job, and a scary immediate future.

But I am motivated to share something that happened for me on the health care front, after losing my insurance.

I'm relatively healthy, but a couple of years ago I went in to have a tooth extracted and they put a blood pressure cup on me and after a few minutes I was swarmed with staff looking at me like I was from another planet. My blood pressure was through the roof. No idea how long it had been like that, years I guess. Long story short, I was put on a blood pressure med, the only med I take other than the occasional zantac for heart burn. I was scared for a while, but the med worked and my bp came down to normal. I still take it.

Now, this drug, Lotrel, is a combo of two drugs. My insurance copay was $60 for a thirty day supply. Well, I went in to refill it a few days ago, the first time without insurance, and was told it would be $240. For one month. That's a lot of money when you're unemployed. It was for me. And I know a lot of people have it far, far worse than me, but I just couldn't do it.

I did some research on the net and found the two drugs that make up Lotrel, and searched for those drugs in generic. No one seemed to offer one of them in the specified strength. I even checked Canadian pharmacies, but the price was about the same.

Then I checked Rite Aid. They had both drugs under their $15/90 day supply plan. A few days ago I filled the generic equivalent to the strength Lotrel I needed, for 90 days, and paid a total of $30.

And while I guess this thread could go off on the need for health care reform, or why the same drugs that keep me from having a stroke cost me $180 for a 90 supply with insurance, or over $700 without insurance for the name brand, can cost me $30 without insurance for the generic, or the sour economy, or bad mortgage loans and the hopeful who went along, I really started this thread, so long ago it seems now, to say thanks to Rite Aid. They really, really helped me out.

Sorry, I tend to ramble after 1:00 am.

[BlooInBloo]

1. Good tip: do research. Glad you were able to get the need satisfied.

[masuki bance]

2. Damn Corporations. nt

[CaliforniaPeggy]

3. My dear Skip Intro...

I am so glad they were able to help you...

I hope that your precarious situation will soon resolve into a very stable one!

Rite Aid has the right idea!

K&R

:hug:

[sandnsea]

4. I get some for $10 for 3 months

Walmart and Fred Meyer have some generics. I haven't checked Fred Meyer, maybe they carry different ones. My husband has a couple that are still kind of expensive. Glad you found some help and hope you find a new job soon.

[Fumesucker]

5. At least you have a prescription..

Mine expired and I don't even have enough to go to the doctor to get another prescription for my BP meds..

So I started bicycling seriously again, thirty minutes three or four times a week basically as hard as I can go without getting totally out of breath. I always was pretty good on a bicycle and I'm a bit surprised how easily it came back to me.

My BP is now out of the stratosphere and heading for normal, without meds. As a plus it's improving my mood and I'm feeling considerably stronger. All this in about three months now.

Nice, informative post and I'm glad you got your needs filled but without insurance and short of cash you might not be able to go to the doctor, thought I would give you a heads up on something you can do.

[Skip Intro]

8. Really?!

I just called my doc and asked to have the scirpt called into RA, and he did it with no visit. I'm under the impression I can get refills called in whenever I'm out.

Wow, I hate to hear that. You shouldn't be going without your meds. This is just a screwed up situation, I mean, we are talking about people's lives.

Congrats on the exercise, I've been doing it too, into week three now, but I am using a "Gazelle" I bought years ago, plus a little weight lifting and aerobics.

And you're right about the doc visits. I'm hoping I won't have to have any any time soon. I could always say I forgot my checkbook or debit card after the visit, with scripts in hand. You could too. One day at a time, I guess...

But please, call your doc and ask for a refill on your meds. There's no reason he/she shouldn't call in a refill without a visit.

[Fumesucker]

10. Get past a certain point and they don't want to refill scrips without more tests..

I'm pretty sure it has to do with liability concerns, they don't want to prescribe something that might harm you if you haven't been tested properly or often enough. I'm also hypothyroid and they were testing me for that every six months, I've been without my thyroid meds for over a year now but I just ran out of my BP meds. I started the exercise when I found out I wasn't going to be able to get another scrip.

I read here on DU I think that Planned Parenthood will run blood tests and write scrips for basic stuff, if I can't control my BP with exercise I'm going to try that route next.

[noiretextatique]

27. planned parenthood does provide basic healthcare

and it's free as long as you meet the income requirements.

[Lisa0825]

31. I also read a few months ago that Walgreens that have clinics in them would

see unemployed patients for free due to the recession.

So if there is not a PP that is convenient, that's another option too.

[nilram]

36. FYI, for the thyroid test,

If you can afford it, you can get a thyroid panel that includes TSH for 45-50 bucks from either DirectLabs or PrivateMD. These are private labs that will test without requiring you to have a doctor's orders. Of course, then there's getting your doctor to prescribe based on that, and the possibility that re-calibrating thyroid replacement could take two or three tests, but maybe your doc would do it with a fax and a phone consult.

It's great that you were being tested every six months -- I'm hypothyroid also and my doc tests only once a year. I do fine with that, but there's one endocrinologist society that recommends six months as their standard of care.

(And to follow this really down a rabbit hole, Levoxyl is just as good as Synthroid, but about 20% cheaper. I'm sure you know you can call pharmacies to get quotes -- don't neglect to call Costco, they have to allow access to the pharmacy even without a card, you just can't use a check.)

[old mark]

20. FS: I strongly urge you to see a doctor ASAP - I friend at work did the same thing -

stopped taking BP medication relying on loss of weight and increased exercise. He did OK till he collapsed and had to be hospitalized after nearly dieing in the ambulance.

mark

[HowHasItComeToThis]

6. PHARMACEUTICALS HAVE NO ETHICS

I WAS A PHARMACEUTICAL SALESMAN DURING THE 1970S BEFORE RAYGUNOMICS KICKED IN... ALSO CALLED REPUBLIFLATION

[dixiegrrrrl]

7. Same story with Mr. d.

Casual blood pressure check while at optometrist, sky high blood pressure, no insurance.
We however, went to generic immediately.
I do not know why more people do not request generic. I always have.
Very happy it has made such a difference for you.

[LuvNewcastle]

9. I take Lisinopril for my blood pressure.

It's extremely cheap and keeps my blood pressure right where it should be. The next time your doctor prescribes an expensive medicine for you, be sure to ask if there's a cheaper drug that would work just as well.

[xxqqqzme]

11. I take that also.

A SoCal grocery chain, Stater Bros., fills generic scripts for $4.00. So that is where I go now plus it is about a 20 minute walk so it is win win.

[subterranean]

12. It can pay to shop around when filling a prescription.

Drug prices can be vastly different depending on where you buy them. Last year, I had a prescription filled at a local drugstore chain. The cost was about $140. This year, I refilled exactly the same prescription at Costco, and it only cost me $80.

[lib_wit_it]

13. That's great. People should know, however, that despite the claim, not all generics function the

same as the brand. My sister says her thyroid meds do not work for her when she gets the generic. I read an article a half a year or so back, which I'll try to locate on line, which supported her claim.

[lib_wit_it]

14. Not the exact article, but with similar info:

http://www.peoplespharmacy.com/2009/07/20/dont-let-drugs-1/

"I told the nurse at the travel clinic about my experience, and she made a very sharp observation. AllerClear is a generic product, and as such WE DO NOT KNOW WHERE THE FILLER IS MADE - IT COULD BE MADE IN CHINA OR INDIA!!!! She thought I had experienced a reaction to the filler. The nurse also pointed out that in order for generic drugs to be cheaper, then they will use cheaper products - such as filler. And, India and China make cheap filler.

Now that I have been educated a bit about high blood pressure, AllerClear or Claritin probably should not be taken. This post in no way meant to slander or bad-mouth Claritin or Aller Clear. The reason I'm leaving this post is to let people be aware of the hidden side effects of fillers in generic drugs. My decline was so slow and insidious that I didn't put the drug and effect together. I wrongly assumed that it was some sort of arthritic condition - after all, I was 57. I am happy to report that the only medications I take are a minimum blood pressure med, occasional ibuprofren and vitamins. I now have complete mobility and am pain free."

[dmallind]

18. China is the biggest source of many ingredients both active and inactive for the entire industry

Generic or otherwise. Don't think you are, or should worry about, avoiding Chinese ingredients by buying Pfizer or Merck or whoever.

Over my career I've spent untold millions of biopharm company money, and a reasonable chunk of it has been in LCC's. China dominates many basic ingredient and API markets. It is sometimes impossible to find a non-China supplier of some specific SKUs. Years of risk mitigation and attention paid to sole-source commodities have been to no avail.

If both those countries worry you and you have medication taken in oral solid form you should also know that one of India's fastest growing industries is contract manufacturing these for pharma companies, including the biggies, where the entire product is made in India and labeled as a product of the contracting company - perfectly legally and au fait with the FDA BTW.

I'm NOT saying you should be alarmed. The same controls are applied to these products regardless, and trust me some of the most sophisticated and best controlled facilities I've seen have been in India and China. But just pointing out that generics are not per se any more likely to contain LCC ingredients or manufacture than non-generics.

[lib_wit_it]

19. I guess the problem I've seen arises when the brand name worked well for people who later ended up

getting a generic that had something different which caused a lesser degree of effectiveness. I suppose for some, the opposite could occur, wherein the generic could work better for some people.

[nilram]

37. thyroid replacement meds are especially sensitive to this

since the amounts are measured in MICROgrams -- a thousand times smaller than the milligrams that most medicines are measured in. A person shouldn't switch thyroid replacement medication brands without recalibrating their dosages. A difference in the fillers used could affect how the tiny amounts of thyroid hormone are absorbed. (And company making the pills may or may not be lax about calibrating their machines correctly.) At the time I went on thyroid replacement, my doctor thought that only Synthroid and Levoxyl were ones that were time-tested to provide reliable dosages.

[Senator]

15. On the mortgage situation

(You may know all this, but many don't.)

Now may be a good time to "deal" with your 2nd mortgage lender. Even if you expect to be re-employed soon, your current "bleak" situation gives you some leverage. When bankruptcy seems probable, they are often eager to get something quick rather than lose it all to 1st lien holder. Many lenders, including GMAC, are willing to settle for 10% (yes, really) -- which might allow you to sell your way out. The only "catch" being that the reduced amount is counted as income, though that might change too.

Also, you should look into "produce the note" and "securitzation-based" challenges to foreclosure. This can at a minimum often extend the process, while you stay in your home "free" for some time, or until your fortunes change. And also don't assume you were not a "predatory" victim. Look into TILA and RESPA violations (100% no-doc just sounds fishy). The timing of a bankruptcy filing can also be done to your advantage.

This kind of maneuvering is not for everyone, but you seem like the type to do the online research to explore all the options for your specific situation. Here's a place to have a look at: http://livinglies.wordpress.com/

--

[old mark]

16. SI: You are damn lucky the dentist checked your BP - you could have

stroked out if it had not been discovered.
Walmart has many generics for $4/ month and $10 to $12 for 90 days supply. They save me more each month than my actual income. I could never afford my meds if it were not for these programs.

FWIW, when my wife took shots for Hep C the retail cost was over $1500 per month.

mark

[old mark]

22. Just checked with my wife about her interferon Rx - cost was

not $1500, but nearly $3000 per month.This was about 8 years ago.

mark

[BlueIris]

17. That was some fancy footwork you did there. Sorry it had to be done in the first place, tho.

Thanks for sharing this solution.

[justiceischeap]

21. For those who need meds and aren't employed -- PHARMA offers free drug programs

Just do a Google search on "free drug programs" and you'll see that PHARMA has some "giveaways." I don't know if all here would qualify but it's worth a shot.

[mmonk]

23. I've noticed pharmacies offer different drug plans that help.

That's a good thing. Of course, what it reveals is the enormous graft and gouging in our system. That was what was so bad about the last "reform" of medicare and the so called "free market".

[nightrain]

24. check with your prescriber and/or pharmacist before you make this decision.

For safety reasons.

[DarthDem]

25. Nice Find

Glad you did some research and that Rite-Aid helped you out. Best of luck with your mortgage and your job situation.

Mad props for the "Gamesters of Triskelion" picture featuring Shatner.

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

26. non-medical advice - get a roomate pronto! nt

[AnotherDreamWeaver]

28. I have heard Costco stores sell pharmacy stuff at a discount,

And you do not have to be a member if you are only buying from the Pharmacy is my understanding. (My VA care has wanted me to take high BP meds, but when my systolic is 116 to 132 range I think they just want to push meds, and said no, thank you.)

Best of luck with everything,
ADW

[Patiod]

34. My dad did the research, and Costco is the cheapest

and he also said you don't have to join if your are only buying from the Pharmacy.

As for the VA pushing your BP meds, ADW, research has shown that really, really tight control of BP (like 100/60 for diabetics and those at high CV risk) has proven benefits for eyes, kidneys, etc. And most the the HTN meds are generics now - cheap cheap. And VERY safe.

And if you have diabetes (or pre-diabetes) those ACE inhibitor BP meds (again, generic) provide kidney protection.

VA is only pushing meds based on outcomes research that shows that a lower BP = better outcomes. They're not in bed with "big pharma" because "big pharma" is not getting rich from $4-$5 generics, which is what most BP meds are now.

[AnotherDreamWeaver]

42. No diabetes issues at all here. I think I'm still in great shape for my age.

a BP of 100/60 seems very low to me. If BP is below 100 an emt is not to give nitro to a heart patient. If my systolic pressure was up around 200 I might become concerned.

But thanks for your concern.
ADW

[Juche]

29. Thats good. There are tons of generics in the $4 a month program

I get a diuretic bp med via that program, but they also have ACE inhibitors, alpha and beta blockers. A long time ago I used a combo of a diuretic and an ACE inhibitor for BP and it worked really well (zestoretic), and that generic combo is only $4/month.

Suffice it to say, its good you found your drugs cheap. But if you didn't hopefully you could've kept your BP down with diuretics, ACE inhibitors, alpha or beta blockers since those are all fairly cheap now. It is the calcium channel blocker that drove up your costs. You're lucky you found a place that offered that cheaply.

What I'm trying to say is its good you got your meds, but if you couldn't there are still a variety of other classes of hypertension meds for $4/month that you could've tried instead. So you wouldn't have been totally in the cold and had to go with no bp meds.

[ecstatic]

30. Do you have a link to a reputable online Canadian pharmacy?

It's hard to tell which ones are real vs. fake.

[Juche]

32. look for a CIPA or Pharmacychecker.com sign on their homepage

[bertman]

33. Thanks for posting, Skip. Just goes to show how much profit is in a non-generic pill.

[femrap]

35. Always check out the Canadian

Pharmas. I've used them in the past and saved lots of money!!! And if saving money is illegal...fuck 'em never again.

[lupinella]

38. Any suggestions?

Yay for you & Rite Aid! So good to hear positive stories!

I've price-checked several local pharmacies here in Orlando, but my generic for Adderall is still $70 a month, Zolpidem is $50ish and the GENERIC for my migraine meds - $270. I looked in the phone book the moment I read the post, but nary a Rite Aid listed. I doubt I could get the Adderall from Canada since it is one of those meds that I have to pick a scrip up for every time I get it, due to its schedule listing.

My job loss was a shocker to me, but so many of us in this town have lost full time jobs due to the tourism industry being currently at nil. Two close friends who managed to retain their full time gigs are STILL losing their homes because their other jobs dried up! As for me, I am doing okay financially, and by that I mean I'm one minor illness or major car repair away from losing my house. Would not qualify for a lot of financial programs because the way I am maintaining is by working FOUR JOBS!
So, any suggestions would be very helpful.:shrug:

[magellan]

39. If you're uninsured, check this out

http://www.heyitsfree.net/2009/07/29/free-discount-drug-card/

I have no personal experience with this discount drug card (actually you print and take the whole page to the pharmacy, many participate), but for anyone currently without health coverage it's worth a shot if it saves some $$.

[JDPriestly]

40. Interesting. Worth checking Costco prices also.

[nilram]

41. have you checked on "state continuation" coverage?

It's an alternative to COBRA that's available in some states. Other alternatives are HMOs, like Kaiser, which in some cases can be cheap, or high-deductible policies. I was in a similar situation with my former company. Being 50, and having a couple of "conditions", I know coverage becomes important. Even a group plan can exclude pre-existing conditions if you've been without coverage for six months or more -- and that's not long in this job market.

It can be a little more urgent to figure out what to do, since most state continuation type policies require that you sign up within 60 days.

Here's something that discusses state continuation coverage in SC (I peeked at your profile),
http://healthinsuranceinfo.net/getinsured/south-carolina/individual-health-plans/conversion-coverage/

And also,
South Carolina Department of Insurance Consumer Service Division:
800-768-3467 (in state only)
803-737-6180
http://www.doi.sc.gov/consumer/health.htm