If Ignorance is Bliss...

...then the people at my drugstore must be absofreakinlutely giddy.

We just went to a high deductible health insurance plan at the church. That means that we have to pay for our prescriptions and/or doctor visits, etc. until we reach our deductible. So of course, last night I had to refill my prescription.

You would think this would be an easy task. Not so. Following is the actual conversation I had with the pharmacy tech...

Pharmacy Tech: "Do you have insurance?"

Me: "Yes, but we just changed to a different plan, and we don't have the cards yet."

Pharmacy Tech: "We don't have any record of your insurance."

Me: "Right. It's a high deductible policy, so I have to pay for the prescription."

Pharmacy Tech: "Well then you're going to have to pay cash for it."

Me (thinking): Why would I have to pay CASH? Could I not give them my debit card? And didn't she just repeat what I just said?

Me (out loud): "Okay. How much is it?"

Pharmacy Tech: "Well, we didn't really have all of your prescription."

Me: "How much do you have?"

Pharmacy Tech: "20 pills."

Me: "I take 300 pills a month. That's only 2 days worth."

At this point, the Pharmacy Manager came over, because apparently I had used up my allotted time in the drive thru.

Me: "I need to know how much my prescription costs."

Pharmacy Manager: "Oh, I can't tell you that until I bill you."

Me: "Okay."

Pharmacy Manager: "I can't bill you until I have the full amount of your prescription. It's the law."

Me: "Okay. Can I get the 20 pills you have. I really need the prescription."

Pharmacy Manager: "Okay."

Me: "And can you tell me how much it will be each month?"

(This was apparently the wrong question, as he looked like his head might explode.

Pharmacy Manager: "Well, I really can't tell you until I bill it, but I'd guess about $300 a month."

(Okay, so now we're just guessing. Nice.)

Me: "Online it said it would cost about $200 a month."

Pharmacy Manager: "I dunno."

Me: "Okay. Can you at least increase your monthly order to include my prescription. I have been coming here for several months and you never have the full amount of my prescription. In fact, you usually only have a couple of days worth."

Pharmacy Manager: "I dunno. I guess I can try to up the order, I'm not sure."

(Okay, seriously, who made THIS GUY manager?)

Bottom line, I ended up leaving the pharmacy with 2 days of my prescription, in a very aggravated state, and realizing that because they didn't have what I needed, I won't be able to file the $300 or $200 or whatever my prescription actually ends up costing with my flex spending for reimbursement until after this week's cutoff. Which means I'll have to wait more than a week to be reimbursed that money. And we generally don't have an extra $200 in the budget.

Meanwhile, I really hate this pharmacy now, but it's really close to our house, and it is 24-hours, which is something that often comes in handy in our house. So I'm stuck.

At this point, I can't decide who I despise dealing with more...the drugstore or the insurance company.