Consumer complaints about Medco - Wrong Prescription

Consumer Complaints & Reviews

lilian of spring branch, TX on Sept. 21, 2011

Satisfaction Rating: 1/5

Medco sent me Lisinopril 10mg 1po daily which was filled on 08/24/11. Then, sent out another order of Lisinopril 20mg 1/2 tab po daily on 09/06/11. I called to find out how can that be possible for one patient and why I was sent the 20mg which is not secured and you can not successfully break in half? I then requested to send back the 20mg. I was told I can send it back but I still have to pay my co-pay. As a nurse, I asked why this was not double checked with the MD's office knowing I was just sent a milligram a week ago. I was told that this is not the responsibility of the pharmacist. They only counsel patients.

I then requested to talk to a pharmacist. I was told, only if I have problem with taking my meds. This is very ridiculous. I saw a lot of same medications with dosage difference piled up in the med room at the nursing homes. I now understand what the problem is. How can we stop Medco from ripping off patients, especially the elderly? Please, somebody help!

Maureen of Renton, WA on Sept. 7, 2011

Satisfaction Rating: 1/5

I received a filled prescription from Medco yesterday that I never requested. I called them today to try and figure out why. They sent me less than a month's supply with a 3-month co-pay amount. This is how the scam went down:

1) I tried to refill a prescription at my local pharmacy. It had many refills left and I'd filled it before with no problems. Medco denied it. They told the pharmacy something about the FDA approved guidelines had changed and they could only approve so many pills in a given period. They sent me a letter explaining why also. My doctor tried to call them and work out the issue.

2) In the meantime, I went to my Oncologist and had him try to refill the prescription at another pharmacy and it went through fine.

3) My regular doctor, somehow in working with Medco to get my prescription filled at my local pharmacy, sent Medco a prescription to be filled by them, according to Medco.

4) I received this prescription in the mail on 9-6-2011. This was 11 days after Medco approved the refill I got from my Oncologist, on 8-26-2011.

5) This is a complete scam. Are you kidding me? They won't approve a refill and then they approve 2 different ones that I end up having to pay 4 co-pay amounts for. The one from them, being the issue.

6) Dealing with them on the phone was a total waste of time. I talked to a customer service representative, a manager and a pharmacist. I have to pay them or they will hold up any other prescriptions I need.

Miriam of Cheboygan, MI on Oct. 5, 2004

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 on Sept. 29, 2004

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.