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Medco - Wrong Prescription

Medco • 30 Days Same Price As 90 • Unilateral Cancellations • Prescription Delays • Wrong Prescription • General complaints --- News • Medco Settles Fraud, Kickback Charges for $155 Million • Judge Upbraids Medco • Pharmacy Benefit Managers Scrutinized • Medco Settles State Lawsuits

Miriam of Cheboygan MI (10/5/04):
I went to Medco Health website to refill rx for Estring 2mg. They did not have in stock, so they called the doctor and had the rx changed and shipped, billed my credit card, without informing me of the change. When I called Medco health and wrote letter of complaint they put the blame on my doctor. However, my problem is that I pay for the medication and before I'm billed and shipped something different should be given the option of purchasing. Very disatisfied with the service. I asked Charlie if they could send me an email before they so this and was bluntly told no.

They sent me something that I won't use and they don't care. They sent me Nuvaring vaginal ring (which adds another hormone that I don't need), but again they reiterated that this is the doctor's choice. I believe when I pay for something it's my choice! The doctor doesn't buy my medication.

Susan of Woodville TX(9/29/04):
Medco is the prescription drug benefits provider for our BlueCross BlueShield coverage. They have come up with a new monopoly ruling that says that we must pay more money for our prescriptions if we use our local pharmacies instead of their pharmacies. I had to have all new prescriptions done and order my maintenance drugs from them or pay almost twice as much from my local pharmacy.

As a result, one of my prescriptions was written wrong and I received the wrong medication. After taking one pill, which I had an adverse reaction to, I stopped taking the medication, researched what was wrong, and contacted Medco. My doctor had written a prescription for the wrong medication. I have used the same pharmacist for years. He knows the types of meds I can and cannot take. He catches errors made by my doctors all the time. Medco knows nothing about me, my history and does not care to know.

When I filled out what meds I take monthly, I filled out the correct medications. Medco did not check to see that what I listed matched the prescriptions that were sent. To be honest sometimes meds have so many different generic names, it is impossible for a non-certified pharmacist to know that it is not the same medication. Therefore when I sent my script in, I didn't realize it was not my normal medication and I didn't question it.

There were several things my normal, caring pharmacist would have questioned. I am allergic to yellow dye, this incorrect pill was green, this signals it takes yellow dye to get that color. He would also have questioned why my medication was changed. At that point, we would have contacted the doctor to correct the problem.

I am now stuck with 3 months of pills I cannot take. Medco will not refund my money and to be honest takes no responsibility for this at all.

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