I'm HOT....

Furious really. Actually, my Irish blood is boiling, and that's not a good thing! I can handle a lot of things -- intentionally being lied to, mislead, or cheated is not among them. Being taken advantage of is not something I'll tolerate, and I've been known to fly off the handle a time or two and go to great lengths to correct the problem... Guess what???? Someone tried to pull one over on me today. The real issue is that it didn't affect just me -- Caleb was involved so it was all out war.

Here's what happened..... I went to Dr. Jon today with two sick kids. He wrote me a prescription for Xopenex -- 3 times a day for 30 days. (I am supposed to get 90 tubes). This medication is a liquid you put into a nebulizer and it opens the airways in the lungs. Jon always writes the prescription for as much as insurance allows so that I always have it on hand. This way, as soon as the kids start to wheeze I can pull out the nebulizer.... Anyway, I go and get the Xopenex and two other antibiotics filled for them at Dahl's and then head over to the customer service area to get my Sesame Street Live tickets. When I come back, my prescriptions are filled, sacked and ready to go. All I have to do is sign and pay for them. Great! The total bill was pretty high, but the pharmacist told me that the Xopenex was $68'ish... Fine. It's 90 vials, so that will last quite a while.

*** On a side note, for anyone who doesn't know.... I LOVE Dr. Jon. I think he's the best pediatrician in town and he's gone above and beyond the call of duty to help Matt and I out over the years. He's been known to call on Sunday to check in on the kids when they're sick, and even personally treat Matt and I... He spends tons of time with us, and I never leave his office with unanswered questions. We have a great relationship. When I leave his office I NEVER leave questioning the treatment or prescription. So there is NO WAY I misunderstood the Xopenex prescription -- oh, and he's written the script for me several times in the past.

When I got home and opened the sack, I noticed that there was only one box (24 vials) of Xopenex. Surely a mistake has been made. I look at the receipt and it shows that I have two refills left. Odd, since Jon didn't write it for any refills.... I take a closer look and start doing the math. The pharmacist only filled 1/3 of the prescription and put the other 2/3 as a "refill" so that he could collect additional co-pays -- which would be a total of around $220 to get the whole prescription filled. I call him to ask why the total prescription wasn't filled, and he told me that he didn't want to fill the whole script because he wouldn't make enough money... WHAT IN THE HELL IS THAT????? I've got a sick baby with breathing problems and this fool is concerned with making a dime? I about had a heart attack right on the phone with him. After ranting and raving for a few minutes he told me that he'd fill the remainder of the prescription... i.e. all 30 days -- after all insurance DID cover it. He said that he'd have to charge me an extra $15 or something... He had to order the remainder of the Xopenex and it would be in by 10:30 tomorrow morning.

So while the kids were napping, I called the insurance company to find out what the deal was. As we were talking they told me that the pharmacist backed out the initial charge and re-submitted it for 24 days. Again --- WHAT IS THAT???? 24 days? I'm positive that Jon wrote it for 30 days.... So after I confirm for the 50th time that insurance covers Xopenex for 30 days (3 times per day), I call back to Dahl's....

Oh -- and yes, it gets better....

Mike (the pharmacist who had been helping me all along who coincidentally manages the pharmacy) answers the phone and after hearing it was me AGAIN, he says, "I'm surprised you called back. How much confusion could anyone have over a prescription". Well -- let me tell ya!!! PLENTY! When I asked why he only resubmitted the claim for 24 days instead of the 30 -- you know what he told me????? Xopenex packages the vials in boxes of 24 so if he filled the whole script he'd have to throw away 6 vials, and he didn't want to do that. HEEELLLO!!! I totally lost it. I was soooo furious. When the phone call ended he agreed to fill the 30 day prescription, but holy crap ...... it just shouldn't be that hard.

So then tonight at Bunco, I'm talking to my neighbor, Julie, who happens to also be a pharmacist at Hy-Vee. (Her store is way out of my way, so I don't go there). Anyway, I give her the scenario and ask her how she'd fill it. Guess what???? She'd fill it with 4 boxes (96 vials) and not give it another thought... UUUUUUGH! If only it was that easy today. What a needless fight. What a waste of time. But if it's something that affects my baby boy, it's worth going off the deep end for.

Oh, and it gets better -- right in the middle of the whole fight, I call my mom to tell her all about it. Mike (Siefert sp???) did the same thing to her. Tonight at Bunco, two other people overheard my conversation with Julie and the same thing happened to them. Are you kidding me??? I smell something fishy!

Can't wait until tomorrow when I get to pick up the rest of the prescription....