Wasting Time

The new insurance has been challenging to say the least, but I was more than happy with the RX coverage. It has really cut our out of pocket expenses and we were able to use the local pharmacy, making it very convenient.

Well, it was, but as of June 1st, that pharmacy is no longer on their approved list. I was given two choices, one of them being Walmart Pharmacy ..... they even specified the city. I never go to that city and it is not the closest location. This annoyed me. A Walmart is a Walmart is a Walmart, right?

So I took my RX numbers of the ones I needed, along with the number to the pharmacy I could no longer use and arrived bright and early at the drop off window. The young woman with blue contact lens (the color was so very unnatural) took my information and then interrupted her transaction with me to answer a call from a doctor's office. She was quite chatty with the person on the other end of the line and after exchanging many pleasantries with this person she finally came back to me.

She had totally forgotten that these would be transfers and tried to look up the RX numbers in her system. Failing to find them she looked at me confused. I restated my errand. She indicated that our transaction was over and I asked how long it would be before I could pick them up. "Oh, this will take hours, we won't have this ready until late this afternoon!" It was 9 am! I asked why it would take so long. "Transfers take a long time!" No, they don't. I know this to be a fact.

I looked at my new bright blue-eyed little friend and said, "It is a phone call, you don't have to drive over there and get them." This is when she reminded me that I had requested 6 different ones. "And, it is still ONE phone call," I said. "Oh, I used to be a pharmacy tech in a Walmart," I added before walking away.

I left and headed to the Dollar Tree to see what I could see in the way of pool supplies for my swimmers. My display was already pretty full, but you never know ..... I killed $50 worth of time there. I spied a thrift store as I drove there, so I checked it out, too. Didn't buy anything, just killed more time. Then on to another thrift store and killed even more time.

Back at Walmart at noon, I figured three hours had been long enough. I stood in line and waited my turn, only to be told they were out of one of my prescriptions (same one I was completely out of). This person was more agreeable and said she had just gotten the shipment of drugs in and that she would personally look for the one I needed and send it to fill. I went and gathered the other items on my list, some of them frozen.

Back in line again at 1:30, I waited my turn again, only to be told my insurance would not pay because I had not paid my premium. We pay electronically, but "it sometimes takes a week to post the payments".

Not so happy with this insurance anymore. I pretty much wasted an entire day. It took two phone calls with wait times that exceeded an hour before they posted the payment and we could pick up the prescriptions. This required another 46 mile round trip. I think I will transfer all of them again ...... just for fun.