It's a good thing I'm not a violent person

I hate health insurance. I know it serves a purpose but I think that holds true only if it's a good insurance. Rich works for a small company and his boss tries to save money on health insurance. It's been changed several times over the past 4 years and each time it has gone from "ok" to "less ok". With this last change we've gone from
"I can't do this anymore" to "Are you freakin' kidding me with this?"

I am on several medications since my pancreatitis in November. I also have prescriptions for my diabetic testing supplies. Our new insurance which took effect on July 1st,tried to charge me $96 for my cholesterol med which I have paid $30 for in the past. I have to be on this for the rest of my life. I called the new prescription company and they said they're not an insurance company. They are a prescription help program. Who are they helping? It's not me,that's for sure.

After 40 minutes on the phone with this representative on Monday,he said if I could get my doctor to switch my Tricor to Welchol,my co-payment would be $30 again. I put in a call to my doctor and when I went to pick it up today at CVS,they told me it would be $198!!!! and I would be taking 2 pills three times a day instead of one a day. Ok,so it's a million percent higher in cost and I have to pop pills all day long??? Ya,that's a big help.

I told the woman that it was supposed to be $30 and she said she would call for me. After several minutes on the phone she came back and said absolutely not.It's $198. Then she made another call and came back to say my old insurance went through and it's only $30 today. I told her we don't have that insurance anymore. She said they can't come back and reject it if it went through so now I would have 30 more days to figure out what to do.

My diabetes test strips went from $50 a month which I thought was outrageous,to $88 a month which I think is robbery! All my meds are higher on this "help" plan and Rich's boss assured him this plan was no different from the last one. When he comes back from vacation next week,Rich is going to talk to him. Basically,he needs a $400 raise per month and that will just cover my medication. I think it is totally unfair to keep going from an ok insurance to one that sucks even more. We pay over $500 per month for this insurance. Shouldn't they insure something other than their own pockets?

(After I posted this,I went in the other room to clean up. I decided to condense my Tricor bottles so I opened up my CVS bag and was stunned. What the heck was this? It was a giant bottle of pills. I read the label:WELCHOL!! They told me I was getting Tricor for one more month. I opened the bottle and saw pills that were the size of my big toe. I have to take 6 of them a day. SIX!

I know I'm lucky to be alive. All my doctors kept telling me that when I was in the hospital since I almost died but here I was enjoying my life and suddenly I have pancreatitis and diabetes. For a woman who hates needles (who doesn't?) I had to have a complete life change and check my blood sugar two to three times a day.It's not fun. I am on medications that I have never been on before and as I said,I have to be on the cholesterol med forever.

Taking six damn pills a day is too much for me. I know there are people who take many more than I do and who are on insulin so I really have nothing to complain about but you know,this is hard for me. It is adding to the depression that I am already in. I hope anxiety meds only have a $10 co-payment because I think that will be next for me.)