Pediatrician + Drug Coupon = Lesson Learned

Like so many families with children this time of year (Winter/Spring Flu Season), I spend quite a bit of time at the pediatricians office.  Most of the time it’s pretty routine: bring my sick kid into the doctor’s office; the doctor checks his lungs, eyes, ears, nose and throat; if there is sign of infection, she will prescribe an antibiotic(s) and then send us on our way.

On Wednesday, it was a pretty routine appointment:  we left with two prescriptions- one for an ear infection and the other for bacterial conjunctivitis- aka “pink eye”.   However, there was one thing different this time, the doctor gave us a coupon for the pink eye medication, telling us that the drug would cost no more than $20 dollars.  

Here’s the coupon:

What happened next was a series of battles between the pediatricians office and our local Walgreens over that coupon.  Turns out, the coupon wouldn’t process correctly and that “pink eye” medication (brand name called Moxeza)  wasn’t covered by my insurance.  And if I wanted it, the drug would cost me a whopping $147.00 out of pocket.  

The pharmacist assured me that there were many alternatives suitable for treatment of children with “pink eye”.  The simple solution to the problem would be a new prescription for a drug covered by my insurance.  

That “simple solution” took more than an hour of wrangling with the pediatrician’s office on the phone.   For some reason, the doctor was insistent on that medication and initially refused to prescribe an alternative.  The doctor finally relented- only after I refused to have Walgreens call the drug manufacturer directly to ask why the coupon wasn’t processing correctly.
What was so special about that medication?  Did the pediatrician get some benefit out of me using that coupon for that drug?   The pharmacist just smiled when I asked him those very questions. He told me that it happens all the time. 
I also learned that rather than giving free samples of drugs, pharmaceutical representatives now hand out coupons to doctor’s offices— hoping doctors will prescribe their drugs and coupons to their patients.   Yes, I do realize that these coupons are beneficial to patients who don’t have health insurance, or limited prescription coverage.   
That wasn’t the case here. In fact, my bill for the new medication was just under $10.00— less than half of what that coupon would have “saved me”.    

Tags: kids pediatrician prescription drugs family medicine sickness flu