Need meds for tomorrow and AETNA Specialty Pharmacy won't send in time!

[Anonymous]

Anyone have any advice for me?

First ivf cycle at Shady Grove and I didn't realize I would need refills for my Menopur and Follistim Pen.
Went to a specialty pharmacy this weekend to hold me over til today (Monday)...

Called early this morning to order from the AETNA Specialty Pharmacy and found out at 5pm that I need an
authorization from AETNA's Women's Health Unit...even for a REFILL! Well, at 5pm they are closed, so no meds
for me tomorrow.

Does anybody know whether Shady Grove keeps meds on reserve?
Would they be willing to front me the meds if I had it shipped a day later?

Any other ideas how to overcome this obstacle? So much for staying stress free during ivf, thanks, AETNA!!!!

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

I think someone else posted a similar situation recently and the advice was that ambulatory care pharmacy, which is in SG's building, stocks most needed drugs.

[Anonymous]

Check with your nurse to see if she has any meds that you can use. Else, Ambulatory Care specializes in fertility meds and always has what you need in stock.

[Anonymous]

I have 2 -75 doses of Menopur extra if you want them. I know I'm a day late, sorry. I'm in Alexandria.
reply if you want them.

[Anonymous]

Hi PP, this is OP, looks like I am ok for now...this is how my day went...in case anyone out there is thinking about joining AETNA (Federal govt version) for the 50% off ivf...realize that you are paying for the other 50 % of the cost in headaches...

You are obligated to use their "AETNA specialty pharmacy" and nobody tells you that you need authorizations to REFILL meds, even though they have already been approved for coverage. The specialty pharmacy is closed on weekends, along with AETNA insurance, so if you realize you run out of meds over the weekend you are screwed.

Went to Shady Grove in the am for monitoring. Of course they had no meds to spare. And I partially blame them for the predicament I am in because
they left my cycle sheet blank for Days 4-12 (because it depends on my Ultrasound and bloodwork I know), but gave me no idea how much meds I would need and presumed
after spending over $3k in meds that it would cover an entire cycle. Guess what everybody, it doesn't!

SG wrote me a prescription just for the meds I needed today. Because AETNA specialty Pharmacy cannot deliver same day.
Paid for the meds out of pocket and now aetna is making it almost impossible to get reimbursed because I ordered the maximum amount authorized from
AETNA pharmacy.

Sorry guys, just needed to vent, and if anyone can learn from my mistakes, please do!
So upset that I am stressed about this when I am supposed to be taking it as easy as possible so this high stakes fertility treatment takes hold.

[Anonymous]

Stories like this make me so mad! I am surprised (not) that they didn't tell you what meds you needed. That is so unfair, esp. if you are new to the process. I really hope everthing works out for you. Insurance issues are the biggest stressors for me right now and I dread having to keep up with it all. They make it so hard.

[Anonymous]

I am surprised that your nurse didn't order you all of the drugs you would need before you started your cycle. Before I start each of my cycles at SG, my nurse calls in a new script for me for all of my meds and also includes refills. She will order everything for the full cycle unless I ask her to adjust any of the amounts. I never use the refills and don't rely on them for the subsequent cycles. Sounds like this problem would have been avoided if she had just called in a new script. See if she can automatically do it going forward - assuming this cycle doesn't work, though hope it does!!!!

[Anonymous]

I'm surprised SG wouldn't call another office to find some meds to lend you - my nurse lent me some one time. Maybe you should get another nurse?

In any event, if this happens to anyone on the weekend, it is probably cheaper to have Freedom Pharmacy send you something overnight then buy from one of the local pharmacies (if you have time to wait for Freedom's delivery).

[Anonymous]

I had Aetna last year for IVF and will never use them again because of the hassle involved with getting the meds. Always, always call and call again to make sure your meds have shipped because even though you have placed you order and all was "OK" every single time something came up and they didn't ship my meds and didn't tell me. In the end I ended ordering everything a month ahead of time just to make sure I got it in time. Two times they were out of the trigger injection (for the next 3 months) and couldn't get me this med. I ended having to pay out of pocket (they told me I would get reimbursed but I never did as I would have had to spend 2 hrs on the phone to get authorization to get it from the local pharmacy even though they told me they were out). I can't even tell you how much time I spent on the phone with them through 2 IVF cycles! To make matters worse they totally rip you off on the cost. Meds are advertised at 50% off but they charge double what freedom pharmacy and others charge for the same product. I was very thankful to be able to switch to MD IPA!! I was SG too and even when the nurse calls it in you have to follow up.

[Anonymous]

Ladies (if I may presume), OP here again!

Everyone's stories, advice and words of support mean so much to me right now because I feel like I am not alone.

Thank you sooooo much.

ps PP 9:09 The nurse @ SG wasn't my nurse, she was the one who handled me b/c she was around at the time of monitoring. Really appreciate the Freedom Pharmacy tip!!!

[Anonymous]

Original poster - Another tip for you... Your regular, assigned nurse is the likely one to provide you with meds should you encounter a problem in the future. The nurses each have their own "stash" and share them with their own patients.