Tuesday, April 16, 2013

It Just Gets Better And Better

Aetna Specialty Pharmacy called me this morning. They wanted to see if I would be interested in enrolling in their specialty health care management program. The representative explained that if I was interested, the program would assign me a nurse who would support me through my treatment. The nurse would have regular counseling calls with me every couple of months, but would also be available at any time if I had any questions about managing my condition or administering my medication. Although this sounds like a pretty good program for people who have been recently diagnosed, I explained that I have been injecting Enbrel by myself for several years and dealing with RA for even longer than that. I said didn't think I needed help from their program.

The representative said she understood my decision but wanted to let me know that the program could also help me enroll in co-pay assistance. I told her I was pretty sure I was already enrolled in co-pay assistance (after all THAT). But, since I had her on the phone anyhow, I asked if she would be able to check my file to be sure. She said she would be happy to and put me on hold.

Several minutes later she came back and said she was unable to determine if I was enrolled in the co-pay assistance program. She instructed me to call the number on the back of my card for assistance with that issue. 

I'm sorry, but why exactly did you call me again? I thought you were going to help me? Doesn't anyone over there have any idea what's going on? What exactly does it say in my file if she was "unable to determine" whether or not I was enrolled?

It just gets better and better.

Luckily I have my sweet boys to keep me going.


Stephanie Kay said...

For the life of me I do not understand why insurance companies insist on dealing with "specialty pharmacies." I've been through 4 or 5 and not one has been competent. No way can all of their paperwork nonsense be cheaper than me just going down to my local CVS and getting my prescription filled. They keep offering the same nurse services to me. I just laugh. After 12+ years on Enbrel I'm pretty sure *I* could educate the nurse about my disease and treatment.

Mom2LittleMiss said...


They are a massive time suck and generally looney. I gave one a shot a few years back and will never do it again. Worse yet? Now that Little Miss has a medical condition that's on their radar, they keep calling for her too. I'm tempted to put her on the phone ;-)