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Weird. I never needed to provide any income or eligibility information. Maybe because I already had a card issued before 2021. I am fortunate that my employer-based health insurance transitioned seamlessly as my Medicare supplement, and it does cover prescriptions, but I haven't needed to submit the Eliquis to it yet. My renewed Eliquis card has at least another year on it. Guess we'll see. Maybe the price for the proprietary med will drop before then.
Guess I might have come along a little late to the Eliquis party to be able to use the discount card with no questions asked, but I figured it's their card they can set the conditions for use, and I will be ok anyway. Who knows, maybe they will "grandfather" you in when you need your card renewed and it'll be automatic. I hope that will happen.
Just curious, you're using the Eliquis discount card without your prescription drug coverage? Guess I thought that had to be submitted along with the insurance, and you'd get whatever discount they wanted to give you- probably less than the discount without the insurance! That's what happened to me recently when I applied a discount card with my insurance to pay for a presurgery bowel prep ( same as for a colonoscopy). With my insurance and discount card, it was $60, without the insurance,
using the discount card, it would have been $40 (I learned later).
Our insurance ( fed.employees BC/BS ) also works very well as a secondary, and IMO its prescription drug coverage is second
to none. Tier 1 generics (most of my prescriptions) have a $3 copay for 90 days, and even the copay for the Eliquis is less than all of the discount programs (GoodRX, some others) I could find. For some reason my copay for the Eliquis at in network retail pharmacy decreased in 2022 by close to $110 for a 90 day supply, and like you, I am looking forward to the generic apixaban ( I read not till 2025). Of course I could go with the mail order (Caremark) to get my Eliquis, which would make the copays $90 for 3 months, it's partly inertia, laziness, and some reluctance to use the mail order that keeps me from doing it.
My doctor has me come in once a year and does yearly blood work that Medicare covers. I do have asthma, HBP and tachycardia so maybe she uses the diagnosis to justify the blood work.
I am new to Medicare and now find Drs. want you to come in almost monthly for crazy reasons. I always went every 6 months for BP meds only. Blood work is very good and I have no medical issues. Since Covid I feel like they have lost their minds. Has anyone used a teledoc service or just bought their meds online somehow?
Guess I might have come along a little late to the Eliquis party to be able to use the discount card with no questions asked, but I figured it's their card they can set the conditions for use, and I will be ok anyway. Who knows, maybe they will "grandfather" you in when you need your card renewed and it'll be automatic. I hope that will happen.
Just curious, you're using the Eliquis discount card without your prescription drug coverage? Guess I thought that had to be submitted along with the insurance, and you'd get whatever discount they wanted to give you- probably less than the discount without the insurance! That's what happened to me recently when I applied a discount card with my insurance to pay for a presurgery bowel prep ( same as for a colonoscopy). With my insurance and discount card, it was $60, without the insurance,
using the discount card, it would have been $40 (I learned later).
Our insurance ( fed.employees BC/BS ) also works very well as a secondary, and IMO its prescription drug coverage is second
to none. Tier 1 generics (most of my prescriptions) have a $3 copay for 90 days, and even the copay for the Eliquis is less than all of the discount programs (GoodRX, some others) I could find. For some reason my copay for the Eliquis at in network retail pharmacy decreased in 2022 by close to $110 for a 90 day supply, and like you, I am looking forward to the generic apixaban ( I read not till 2025). Of course I could go with the mail order (Caremark) to get my Eliquis, which would make the copays $90 for 3 months, it's partly inertia, laziness, and some reluctance to use the mail order that keeps me from doing it.
I used to have a discount card for one medication that I used to use with my employer based prescription insurance. Once Medicare started, I was not allowed to use the discount card the same way. I would have to either use my medicare prescription insurance or the discount card with cash.
Medicare and medicaid do not allow discount cards or coupons combined with insurance.
My oncologist said Canada was fine, but avoid ordering directly from China or India because you won't know what you're getting. I've certainly seen that in ordering jewelry supplies from them.
We were far from Mexico then, so we didn't discuss it, but I've since read it's generally safe to get meds there.
guess you can't recognize sarcasm when you see it!
Just noting that it is OK for Big Pharma to get their drugs manufactured in China and India but the FDA and the drug companies claim it is not safe for us common citizens to buy our drugs out of the country!
I used to have a discount card for one medication that I used to use with my employer based prescription insurance. Once Medicare started, I was not allowed to use the discount card the same way. I would have to either use my medicare prescription insurance or the discount card with cash.
Medicare and medicaid do not allow discount cards or coupons combined with insurance.
Yeah, it seems most medication discount cards ( at least from the manufacturers) exclude those with government-based insurance ( Ie, Medicare- part D plans, Medicare Advantage (??), Medicaid, Tricare) from using these cards. Our prescription drug plan comes from our secondary FEPBC/BS coverage ( Medicare is primary), which is a private entity, so we can use those discount cards.
Sometimes though, depending on the drug you might end up paying less by using the discount card and self-pay than you would using your insurance. This recently happened to my friend during the time she was in the Part D donut hole.
Just curious, you're using the Eliquis discount card without your prescription drug coverage? Guess I thought that had to be submitted along with the insurance, and you'd get whatever discount they wanted to give you- probably less than the discount without the insurance! That's what happened to me recently when I applied a discount card with my insurance to pay for a presurgery bowel prep ( same as for a colonoscopy). With my insurance and discount card, it was $60, without the insurance,
using the discount card, it would have been $40 (I learned later).
I don't think my pharmacist ever submitted the Eliquis prescription to insurance. Just applied the card directly. Before and after enrolling in Medicare. If/when the discount card fails I'll "experiment" further. So far, the costs have been quite minimal. I feel very fortunate to have FEPBC/BS as secondary coverage. Putting up with all the BS/red tape working for the federal government all those years is now paying off. Not that that was my prime motive to do so! .
Last edited by Parnassia; 09-21-2022 at 01:32 PM..
Crazy reasons like redoing bloodwork every month for numbers that are a digit or two high. I have never experienced this especially since he didn't even want to see any of my other test results.....thats crazy! He is only open 20 hours a week and this is the second Dr. who insists on many visits as a condition on refilling. Don't you need a prescription for Costco?
While you may think it's crazy, a number or two can be a big deal with high blood pressure. I lost someone yesterday to a stroke. High blood can cause a stroke. You don't want to go through that. You don't want to put your family and friends through that. Get your blood tested!
And after 15 years you really should talk to your about and see if something better is available. My great aunt stayed on the same BP meds for 20 years. Guess what? We lost her from a stroke because those meds were no longer effective and she refused anything else.
I don't think my pharmacist ever submitted the Eliquis n to insurance. Just applied the card directly. Before and after enrolling in Medicare. If/when the discount card fails I'll "experiment" further. So far, the costs have been quite minimal. I feel very fortunate to have FEPBC/BS as secondary coverage. Putting up with all the BS/red tape working for the federal government all those years is now paying off. Not that that was my prime motive to do so! .
I hear you, my husband was the federal employee in our family, so with the Medicare we have the secondary coverage with FEPBC/BS. He has the Self+One coverage to include me, with the Standard Option. It's pricey ( though if you consider it covers two people it's not so bad), but with it our medication copays are the only out of pocket expenses we have. I've also found the BC/BS customer service over the years, both for the medical and the pharmacy portion of the coverage, to be very helpful in solving an occasional problem- I actually had a pharmacy customer service rep call Walgreens recently when I was unable to get through, to find and solve a problem ( of Walgreens' making) that kept them from filling one of my long time maintenance meds ( Walgreens said it was an "insurance problem", actually was a clerical error on the part of a Walgreens employee).
Now that I've been saddled with what is likely to be an expensive diagnosis ( colon cancer, but think they got it all), I'm really grateful for the insurance coverage we have. Hopefully I won't need this, but just out of curiosity I was looking at their specialty pharmacy, to see how it worked, and also was able to check out patient copays for some of the immunochemotheraapy drugs ( which would be what I'd get in the event I needed chemotherapy, due to the genetic mutations they've found in my tumor). The costs of those monoclonal antibody-based chemotherapy drugs fall into the "if you have to ask, you can't afford it" category, but it looked like the copays for two of the drugs they might likely use if I needed chemotherapy would be $65 per dose ( once every 3 weeks' infusion) for mail order from their specialty pharmacy, as opposed to over $3000 per dose with a coupon from a retail pharmacy.
I hear you, my husband was the federal employee in our family, so with the Medicare we have the secondary coverage with FEPBC/BS. He has the Self+One coverage to include me, with the Standard Option. It's pricey ( though if you consider it covers two people it's not so bad), but with it our medication copays are the only out of pocket expenses we have. I've also found the BC/BS customer service over the years, both for the medical and the pharmacy portion of the coverage, to be very helpful in solving an occasional problem- I actually had a pharmacy customer service rep call Walgreens recently when I was unable to get through, to find and solve a problem ( of Walgreens' making) that kept them from filling one of my long time maintenance meds ( Walgreens said it was an "insurance problem", actually was a clerical error on the part of a Walgreens employee).
Over 35 years with FEPBC/BS I really haven't had trouble dealing with them either. Can't recall more than one or two issues that could be tracked back to them, but then I haven't had many complicated health issues either. Cancer surgery/treatment years ago, THR years ago, now cardiac arrhythmia is about it. Sure, maybe the coverage does cost a bit more, but there's usually a tradeoff in terms of quality of service.
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