Re: cheaper pharmacies w/o going to canada or mexico to carol

[Guest guest]

Dear Carolyn,

I am blessed, as my meds would cost over $1500 per month if I had to buy

them outright. Because you have such a large rx bill, I would encourage

you to talk to your physician and ask if they can contact the drug

companies on your behalf, so that you can get (possibly) the drugs free

of charge. Most pharmaceutical companies do have a program in which

they furnish medications free of charge to those who cannot afford it.

This is how we get Elwyns Megace, which costs $135 for a bottle that

lasts 12 days. We are on a moderate income, not what you would call

low, but certainly not high enough to fill an optional rx that costs

that much. We simply filled out a form and within a week, had 4 bottles

of Megace. If your doctor will not do it for you, then find outu from

the pharmacy which companies make the rxs that you are taken and write

them yourself (pharmacy may also have the address of the companies).

If you cannot get a name and address of a manufacturer, please write me

via personal email and I will see if I can help you. Will also help you

word a letter to them, but the doctors office is the best place to

begin to see if you qualify.

Also, if SSD is your sole source of income, have you checked with your

local dept. of human services to see if you qualify for Medicaid, which

will cover the costs of a lot of the medications. I will admit to not

knowing much about Medicaid, since Tennessee does not offer Medicaid...

instead, they have an HMO called TennCare.

Hope this info helps... if I can provide any additional information,

please feel free to just ask.

gentle hugs,

Sharon - Memphis, TN

Phone

" ..and with his stripes, we ARE healed! " Isaiah 53:5

[Guest guest]

---Thank you so much, Sharon. Well, my doctor gives me samples when

I go to see him, but he won't do the drug program for his patients.

He doesn't have a large enough staff he says. And there is a lot of

paperwork, I know.

I have gone online to places who do the free meds thing, but they all

want a doctor to send them to. I only have one doctor who gives me

the 7 fibro meds.

So, what else can I do? They all want a doctor.

I would like to change doctors, but haven't found another one so far.

I have too much savings to quality for Medicaid. I think you can

only have $2,000 in the bank. I live with my elderly parents, so

have no living expenses, as they pay for food and housing. We take

care of each other. Dad is 91 in a wheelchair with one leg. Mom is

87 and has a terrible back, 6 compound fractures. So, I have a home

and food and with my SSD check, I have meds. Others aren't as lucky

as I am.

Carolyn b

In Fibromyalgia_Support_Group , Thronberry@w... wrote:

> Dear Carolyn,

>

> I am blessed, as my meds would cost over $1500 per month if I had

to buy

> them outright. Because you have such a large rx bill, I would

encourage

> you to talk to your physician and ask if they can contact the drug

> companies on your behalf, so that you can get (possibly) the drugs

free

> of charge. Most pharmaceutical companies do have a program in which

> they furnish medications free of charge to those who cannot afford

it.

> This is how we get Elwyns Megace, which costs $135 for a bottle that

> lasts 12 days. We are on a moderate income, not what you would call

> low, but certainly not high enough to fill an optional rx that costs

> that much. We simply filled out a form and within a week, had 4

bottles

> of Megace. If your doctor will not do it for you, then find outu

from

> the pharmacy which companies make the rxs that you are taken and

write

> them yourself (pharmacy may also have the address of the

companies).

> If you cannot get a name and address of a manufacturer, please

write me

> via personal email and I will see if I can help you. Will also

help you

> word a letter to them, but the doctors office is the best place to

> begin to see if you qualify.

>

> Also, if SSD is your sole source of income, have you checked with

your

> local dept. of human services to see if you qualify for Medicaid,

which

> will cover the costs of a lot of the medications. I will admit to

not

> knowing much about Medicaid, since Tennessee does not offer

Medicaid...

> instead, they have an HMO called TennCare.

>

> Hope this info helps... if I can provide any additional information,

> please feel free to just ask.

>

> gentle hugs,

>

>

> Sharon - Memphis, TN

> Phone

>

> " ..and with his stripes, we ARE healed! " Isaiah 53:5

[Guest guest]

dear carolyn b.,

do you have a costco, sam's club or other membership discount

warehouse near you? i use their pharmacies exclusively. they are

300% cheaper than even the cheapest drug and discount store

anywhere. you also do not need a card as the pharmacies are open to

all.

also if you contribute to the rent/mortgage, food and clothing you

would come in under being able to get medicaid. i'm sure you

contribute something and it's non of medicaids business how much.

just figure that your parents pay half and you pay the other half. i

doubt medicaid will ask for reciepts and if they do you could buy a

reciept book and have your dad make out reciepts. they don't have to

know exactly how its split. just tell them what they want to know.

good luck,

nancy

> ---Thank you so much, Sharon. Well, my doctor gives me samples

when

> I go to see him, but he won't do the drug program for his

patients.

> He doesn't have a large enough staff he says. And there is a lot

of

> paperwork, I know.

>

> I have gone online to places who do the free meds thing, but they

all

> want a doctor to send them to. I only have one doctor who gives

me

> the 7 fibro meds.

>

> So, what else can I do? They all want a doctor.

>

> I would like to change doctors, but haven't found another one so

far.

>

> I have too much savings to quality for Medicaid. I think you can

> only have $2,000 in the bank. I live with my elderly parents, so

> have no living expenses, as they pay for food and housing. We

take

> care of each other. Dad is 91 in a wheelchair with one leg. Mom

is

> 87 and has a terrible back, 6 compound fractures. So, I have a

home

> and food and with my SSD check, I have meds. Others aren't as

lucky

> as I am.

>

> Carolyn b

>

>

[Guest guest]

dear carolyn,

just b/c you don't actually put in a lot of money into your parents

doesn't mean you have to tell your SSD worker or medicaid that.

sometimes you have to tell them little white lies to get them to do

things they are supposed to do. but, yes if you have $1. over a dime

they automatically say you can't have something. my son doesn't

exactly pay rent, food or whatever. we just say he does. so they

won't take his money away. most of the time he just turns over the

check to me and i pay everything for him. then i give him some

spending money out of it. so sometimes you have to work it out for

their benefit and yours.

nancy in reno

> ---Thank you for your reply, . Actually, Sharon is looking

into

> several alternatives for me. She is a real saint!

>

> I don't have either Costco or Sam's in my town. Closest one is

about

> an hour's drive each way, but I will look into it and it may just

be

> worth a trip for some of the most expensive meds, however, I never

> can get the perscriptions to run out at the same time and I find

> myself running to the pharmacy " umteen " times a week, for both my

> parents and me.

>

> Now, can you tell me briefly what Medicaid is? How is it

different

> from Medicare? I just know that when I talked to the SS office in

> 1998 or 1999, I inquired about Medicaid and right away they said I

> wasn't eligible because my savings was more than $2000.

>

> Also, Dad takes me as a dependent on his tax return. Actually, I

> don't share expenses at all with my parents. They pay for

housing,

> utilities, food, car, gasoline, etc. I AM BLESSED AND THANK GOD

> EVERY DAY THAT I HAVE THEM!

>

> I pay for my secondary insurance, Medicare insurance, and as many

of

> my perscriptions as I can, and they pick up the rest. What I do

for

> my parents is the housework, grocery shopping, most of the

cooking,

> bill paying, tax stuff, errand running, and all the driving to

their

> appointments and anywhere they want to go. I'm in charge of their

> pill boxes, dad's eyedrops. I do Mom's hair and help her dress.

> Just stuff they can't do, which is almost everything now. In

> exchange, they pay the bills I can't pay, and we pinch a lot of

> pennies. Both of their minds are very sharp, which is another

> blessing!

>

> Anyway, Sharon is investigating Canadian Pharmacies and pharmacy

> programs that pay for the ones who can't afford them. I really

don't

> think that many of my 10 drugs will be elgible for much of

anything

> as far as pharmacy programs. What I will do is call Sam's and get

> prices for all my drugs and compare them to what I'm paying.

>

> Thank you for mentioning that. I WILL check into it. carolyn b

>

>

>