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beneficii
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01 Mar 2015, 5:44 pm

I refilled my generic Seroquel in mid-February, after my Express Scripts insurance coverage had ended. Since it was 10 dollars, and not the 8 Express Scripts usually made me pay, I thought this was the price without insurance. Unfortunately, that was not the case. The document says the insurance saved me nearly a thousand dollars, which means the pharmacy is getting ready to bill me nearly a thousand dollars for this prescription.

I cannot pay that amount, and on top of the huge bills I got from my last hospitalization (even with insurance) last December, I will probably be forced to declare bankruptcy.

God damn. Am I so f*****g stupid!


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ominous
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01 Mar 2015, 6:00 pm

What, wait? I am in Australia where we have socialised medicine (praise cheeses) and never heard of such a thing as a thousand dollar prescription, so I looked up the price of this medicine. Are they trying to steal from you? Are you sure it's a thousand dollars?

Can you ask with this document printed out if they do try to charge you that much? It looks like the highest dose in mg for 90 tablets is *only* $157 (also outrageous, but way less outrageous than $1000). Is that doc from the insurance company or the pharmacy? If it's from the insurance company maybe they are trying to scare you back into being insured by making out like they are doing you huge favours that they aren't actually doing you?

Check this out. Ask the pharmacy directly before freaking out anymore. I think the insurance company might be pulling your leg.

http://www.drugs.com/price-guide/quetia ... let-100-mg



beneficii
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02 Mar 2015, 12:23 am

I take 800 mg of Seroquel a day and the prescription information booklet for the generic prescription I received said that my insurance had "saved" me $987 or $988, leaving me with a $10 copay (even though the copay for generics was normally $8).


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beneficii
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02 Mar 2015, 8:24 am

ominous,

Also, at your link, it says:

Quote:
This quetiapine price guide is based on using the Drugs.com discount card which is accepted at most U.S. pharmacies. Prices are for cash paying customers only and are not valid with insurance plans.


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beneficii
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02 Mar 2015, 8:26 am

Here is another link, at Kroger pharmacy (which is where I filled my prescription):

http://www.goodrx.com/quetiapine#/?filt ... ty-custom=

That is the dose I am taking, and it's more than $1000 at Kroger for 30 days worth.


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ominous
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02 Mar 2015, 5:18 pm

Jesus, that's insane. I'm sorry.



ominous
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02 Mar 2015, 5:24 pm

That must be an American thing. The Australian 'private' price for #60 of 400 (one month at 800mg) is $165.99
http://www.chemistwarehouse.com.au/prod ... Tablet+60+

I wonder who is making that kind of money off of sick people in the USA and where that money is going. I'm really sorry you're in this situation.



kraftiekortie
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02 Mar 2015, 6:12 pm

Medications are very expensive in America. People frequently buy their medicines from Canadian companies.



ominous
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02 Mar 2015, 6:17 pm

That's outrageous. Who is getting all of that money? Why would they be so much cheaper in Australia when they are coming from the same companies of origin? That's some nasty business.



kraftiekortie
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02 Mar 2015, 6:19 pm

The pharmaceutical companies.



ominous
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02 Mar 2015, 6:26 pm

kraftiekortie wrote:
The pharmaceutical companies.


But wouldn't the same pharmaceutical companies be delivering the drugs we have in Australia? I mean, to my knowledge we don't make all our own medications here. I find that confusing and really quite upsetting. When I was in the USA I was so poor that I qualified for medicaid and received all my meds for free, but the level of poverty required to qualify for that was abject. In Australia my medicines are $6.10 for each, irrespective of their original cost, because I live in poverty, but it isn't abject compared to the USA.



ominous
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02 Mar 2015, 6:28 pm

I feel really bad for beneficii and everyone else who has to go through this in the USA. That's outrageous. So what you declare bankruptcy because you're unwell and need help there, but not poor enough to barely afford your food and rent so you can get free medicine?

But plenty of money to go around policing the rest of the world, apparently.



kraftiekortie
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02 Mar 2015, 6:32 pm

I'm not sure precisely how it works here.

Somebody else would have more knowledge of that.

I do know that they sell for outrageous prices--like how they just to joke about the Pentagon buying $200 toilet plungers.



ominous
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02 Mar 2015, 6:46 pm

That's really sad. I do know it doesn't work like it works here in Australia. One of the reasons I stay here despite being very homesick is how much more opportunity for equity we have here. I forget how much I should be appreciating that sometimes.



kraftiekortie
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02 Mar 2015, 6:50 pm

And the climate is much nicer, too!

We, in NYC, just got about 15 cms of fresh snow last night. And they're expecting another 10 cms or so over the next couple of days.



ominous
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02 Mar 2015, 7:00 pm

kraftiekortie wrote:
And the climate is much nicer, too!

We, in NYC, just got about 15 cms of fresh snow last night. And they're expecting another 10 cms or so over the next couple of days.



I'm from the Pacific NW, and I miss that climate. I can't be in the sun because of lupus, and Australia has made lupus a reality for me where I didn't really have problems before the UV here. I'd rather that than bankruptcy for not having thousands of dollars to treat my health conditions.

I feel really bad for beneficii and everyone else in that predicament. It seems outrageous and unfair that the wealthiest country in the world does this to its people. :(