Well, I got slammed by the Knight Ridder prescription gremlin, too. The Walgreen druggist, who knew something was amiss, asked: "Did you change your coverage or something." Nope, I told him, the Beacon Journal did that for me. And that others had been slammed, too, and that someone was "working on it."
I called 1-877-232-7272, as Harry suggested in his "panic" post.
I felt fortunate because I was put on hold for only seven minutes (20 minutes is not uncommon with United Health Care).
Jeff answered for United Health Care. I explained that I really didn't want to pay more than $70 for my prescription, instead of the usual $2 co-pay, even if I got reimbursed later (which conveniently gives UHC and Knight-Ridder use of our money to help their cash flow).
Jeff blamed MedCo for not getting the computerized information done correctly. And Jeff said he didn't know when MedCo will straighten it out.
I asked to talk to a supervisor.
Then Jeff came back, after talking to a supervisor (but not letting me talk to him/her) and said that United Health Care is doing “emergency updates” and that they would call me back when my name is entered into the “emergency updates.”
That was 1:53 p.m. Monday, Jan. 10.
I’m still waiting for the call.
Guild and retired printers both are encountering this prescription roadblock. Probably others, too.
KR's flavor of the year vendor screws up the coverage nearly every January, then the retirees have to try to get it straightened out. If we worked this way when WE were at the BJ, we'd be called on the carpet or put out onto the street.
Geesh!
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5 comments:
If you know you are covered, there are a couple of things you can do until this mess is straighted out. Pay for the prescriptions and get reimbursed when the database is back in operation correctly--or if you have a kind durggist like mine perhaps you can convince him to advance you a week's supply or your pills to get you over the hump. Incientally, the last time I called the tollfree number I was treated to a piano recording of "Cry Me A River." Maybe they will change the title to "Cry Me A Ridder."
How come you guys only pay $2 for a perscription and I have to pay $5? I retired in 1992. I used to pay $2 and then it was increased to $5. I don't remember if that was before or after I retired....but if $2 is correct my druggist was making a lor of money on my wife's perscriptions. I don't take any pills...
....Ott
After United Health Care told me on Tuesday that I had the "emergency" adjustment, I went to Walgreen's and was told that I would have to pay $60+ for my subscription because I did not get generic drugs, which Knight-Ridder has NEVER been allowed to do. After calling Northeast Ohio Guild Executive Secretary Mark Davis (headquartered in Cleveland; BJ was merged into that chapter years ago), he said that he thinks the "emergency" adjustment kicked me into the San Jose plan, which does penalize you for getting brand-name drugs, but that he had been assured that, once this mess is cleared up, we will all have the IDENTICAL coverage that we had on Dec. 31, 2004. Mark suggests that any of us that are having problems getting back to our Dec. 31 coverage call Karen Jones, administrative assistant in the Labor Relations dept. at the Beacon Journal, at 330 996-3183, and that Karen will help navigate us through this computer glitch.
So, call Karen Jones at (330) 996-3183 if you are having a problem with your prescriptions not being handled the way they were on Dec. 31, 2004.
Harry followed my advice and called Karen Jones. She referred him to the UHC tollfree number that we already were calling, and getting no satisfaction.
So, scratch that plan.
Our options now seem to be:
1. Pay for our subscriptions, and fill out a form to get reimbursed by United Health Care.
2. Wait for the glitch to be fixed in the computers, even though UHC and MedCo and KR have no incentive to be in a hurry about it, because it helps their cash flow to not pay for a while.
3. Stop taking our medications and die.
I'm guessing, but I think Tony Ridder would prefer No. 3. It would help his bottom line, and provide him with another yacht. That spinning you hear is John Knight rotating rapidly in his grave.
SUCCESS!!!!
This time when I made my daily call to United Health Care, I got a very polite, concerned, sympathetic young man named Matt. At 3:10 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 12, he said that he will get the foulup resolved and will call me on my home phone. At 5:11 p.m. Matt called and said that my situation had been resolved and I’m back to what I was on 12/31/04. I immediately drove to Walgreen’s and had my prescription, with the usual $2 co-pay, at 5:29 p.m.
Thanks to Matt, I didn't have to resort to strategy No. 3 listed in the previous comment!!!
Good luck to everyone else on getting their prescription situation straightened out.
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