Two weeks ago I had a tooth infection and my dentist wrote me a prescription for antibiotics. I have been going to Walmart Pharmacy ever since they started their program of $4.00 a month or $10.00 for three months supply of medications. Based on that, I was expecting a similar price for 10 days worth of antibiotics. When I went to pick up the medication, I was taken aback when I was presented a bill of $112.00. If my heart was weak I probably would have had a heart attack. The pharmacist asked me if I had insurance which fortunately I did so I only had to pay $15.00. This experience has given me a new perspective on why retired senior citizens are having problems affording their prescription medications even though they may be covered by Medicare. It’s hard to even imagine how the unemployed and others without medical insurance can afford the price of getting sick.
I remember about seven or eight years ago I had to go to the emergency room due to chest pain. When I got the statement from the insurance company several weeks later listing how much they paid, it was a real eye opener. If I remember correctly, it was about $30,000 (including all the tests and an overnight stay for observation). It would have been enough to get a real heart attack if you didn’t have the money or insurance to pay for it. Since I also worked at that hospital, they waived the ER co-pay. Incidentally, my chest pain happened during one of the now defunct AREC Sunday runs, so a couple of AREC members transported me in my car to the hospital (barefoot Todd and Margaret for whom I am eternally grateful). The club even sent me a bouquet of flowers the next day. By the way, it was a false alarm and the chest pain was probably brought about when I restarted my blood pressure pills. The funny thing about this episode of my life is when I had to do a treadmill test just wearing a hospital gown and nothing underneath, if you know what I mean. I had a case of the floppies.
On another note, when my mother was diagnosed with colon cancer two years ago and after she had surgery, she was prescribed Xeloda for chemotherapy. I looked for it online to check how much it costs and was surprised to see that a six month supply cost $10,000 here in the U.S. The price in the Philippines however was only about $1000.00. What a huge price difference. So I just sent mom the money so she could buy the meds there instead. It turned out that she was allergic to the medication so she had to stop taking it, but she seems to be ok now.
I feel lucky enough to still be employed in this economy and be covered by health insurance from work even though they increased our out-of-pocket expenses and co-pays for doctor’s visits and prescription medications.
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