At the beginning of the year, our health insurer changed the administrator of our pharmacy coverage.

On Friday, January 3rd – 3 days into this new plan – I called in several refills including maintenance medications for pain that I have been on since 2017 – and was advised that they will now require a prior authorization (for the first time ever).

Of course, the medication I had to have immediately is incredibly expensive.

I began sending messages to the doctors office on a Friday when – according to just my pharmacy – many people are already having this crisis situation with their long term management medications that can’t just be stopped (and it is already difficult to get a fast response for prior authorization requests, especially at the end of holiday week).

As such, I received no response on Friday – and did not get my urgent medication as the pharmacy closed.

On Saturday, my amazing husband picked up the medicine for the exorbitant cash price – absolutely obscene – but I would have been in full CRPS crisis otherwise so he saved me from the hospital. ♥️

Other meds remained outstanding – and on Monday I received a message that my physicians office has sent in the prior authorization requests for approval.

Now I am in the waiting place where I cannot get my other medications yet – and I can’t do anything about it (as I now am in the insurance loop).

It’s a bureaucratic mess for many of us.

(I also can’t imagine how this is going to look with the changes in the specialty pharmacy that dispenses my biologic injections. I’ll be investigating that tomorrow.)

As a chronically ill person, I am deeply frustrated and angry to be in such a position.

I can’t abruptly stop my medications – and I have not changed insurers. I feel that I am being both endangered and unfairly penalized by those interested in everything but the wellbeing of their clients.

Furthermore, dealing with all of this during a week when we have a significant winter storm coming through has me in an immense pain crisis.

Unfortunately, I’m sure I’m not alone in any of this. If there is a substantial group walking this path at just my neighborhood pharmacy in the first days of the new year, I cannot imagine what this looks like statewide.

Sending love, light, and prayers to my fellow chronic illness folks, both in dealing with healthcare issues and with this storm system.

As for the insurance bureaucrats in the world of the Blues and the HMOs – Be. Better. Do. Better.

This is despicable and no way to treat human beings.

Be well, everybody. Take care of yourselves and each other.

Grace and Blessings.