Express Scripts Reviews & Complaints

Page 33 Reviews 4580 - 4730

BarryCleveland, TN

Reviewed June 18, 2004

My experience with Medco Health has been nothing short of a nightmare. I am an insulin-dependent diabetic as is my 15-year-old son. We both take 5 injections a day to control our blood glucose. I also have stage 3 CKD, therefore blood pressure and blood glucose control is critical. I am on 5 oral medications to control other aspects of my condition.

When I placed my first order with Medco it took over 6 weeks to receive all my meds. I went almost 2 weeks without my blood pressure meds due to the Gestapo pharmacy tactics employed by Medco. I chalked all this up to Medco and I getting to know one another so to speak. When it was time for refills my wife decided to use the website. The documentation we had said the drugs would arrive within 5 business days. When the order was placed the website indicated the drugs would arrive on June 9. My wife decided to pay $9 per prescription extra for express delivery. The website indicated this would change the delivery date to June 8. We received a confirmation number for all of this.
By June 9 nothing had arrived. When we contacted Medco they informed us our order would arrive on June 14 which was not acceptable to us, especially since we paid extra for express delivery. Following a heated discussion Medco agreed to allow us to obtain a 7 day supply of meds from a local pharmacy. We were promised the order would arrive on June 14. We were also told the charge for express delivery would be removed.
The following evening, June 10, we received a call from Medco. They wanted to inform us that mine and my sons Lantus, a type of insulin, would be delivered on June 17 not the 14th as promised. Once again we told the caller this was unacceptable. After another lengthy discussion we were told the insulin would arrive on June 14. We also found out that the charges for the express shipping were still on our account. Its June 18 and guess what? No insulin.
When we contacted Medco we were informed our order had been canceled. Let me reiterate what I just said: the order for the insulin that me and my son require in order to survive was arbitrarily cancelled by the pharmacy fuehrer in New Jersey. This is outrageous and will not be tolerated. If Medco is used to keep down health cost I assume they have a method for supplying me with a new kidney for free seeing that the medication I need to keep my present kidneys, such as they are, has been arbitrarily and capriciously denied.

Damage Resulting: Money and time lost. Damage to kidneys, eyes, heart, etc. for both me and my 15-year-old son.

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MelissaShallowater, TX

Reviewed June 2, 2004

On Tuesday May 25th, I put in a refill order for betaseron which is used to treat my multiple sclerosis. I had the order form from Medco Health which showed 3 remaining refills, a pink refill card and the number to call to order. I gave this information to the representative, Pamela, who at that time told me they did not have it in the computer that I had 3 refills left, but she found the pink card information so she was able to override the order. She informed me I would receive it no later than Wednesday June 2 and that she would correct the refill information on the prescription in their computer.

On Friday May 28th, I called Medco health and spoke with Dennis. I inquired on the status of my order; he informed me that it had gone through and that I would receive my medication on Wednesday at the very latest. I called Medco on Tuesday June 1 and spoke with Judy. I inquired again if my order had gone out as I had run out of medication. She advised me that I could receive it later on in the day or tomorrow.
I called today, Wednesday June 2, and spoke with Lacy who informed that my order had been cancelled last week and I had no refills remaining. When I corrected her on the events that had happened, she still refused to look further into the issue. I asked to speak with someone above her. She transferred me to Branden who advised me that my order was voided, I had no refills in the system, and that he processed it back through and it would be another week for it to be processed and as a courtesy they would ship it overnight. He also advised me that I could have my neurologist call in an emergency prescription to my local pharmacy. This would take 7 days to process and cost me $300 out-of-pocket. This is money I do not have.
I have spent a total of 5+ hours on the phone in the past two weeks on this issue and still I have no medication, the error of the refill number has not been corrected, they will not return my calls or follow-up, and they cannot give me an ETA on when I should receive my medication.

Without my medication my symptoms of MS have worsened which has caused me to miss work and be bedridden. I will also have to start at a lower dose if I ever receive it and taper up to a full dose suffering side effects from having prior withdrawal.

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MikeFlowery Branch, GA

Reviewed May 8, 2004

Medco charged me for a 90-day supply of my medicine but only sent me a 30-day supply. When I called to ask why they told me my doctor made a mistake by not writing me a prescription for a 90-day supply. Instead the Dr wrote the script for a 30-day supply with 5 refills. Medco didn't bother to call the doctor or me to clarify...they only filled it for the 30 days and overcharged me by $60.

They refuse to credit me or to accept my return. They refused to admit they may the mistake and blamed me for not knowing how the system worked and blamed my Dr. They also pointed to the "fine print" on their website:

"The quantity and days supply above were used to calculate an estimated price. Please note that the actual quantity and/or days' supply may vary. Your doctor's instructions on how to take the medication, state and federal dispensing guidelines, or how the medication is packaged may impact the quantity and/or days' supply you can receive."

This doesn't say anything about them charging you for 90 days if the script of for 30 days. I'm frustrated with them and have nowhere to ask for help. I don't feel they should be allowed to take advantage of consumers this way.

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KarinMiami, FL

Reviewed April 9, 2004

The company advertises that by using the home prescription you may save money since my copayment would be $50.00 copayment for brand for up to a 90-day supply. If I buy through a retail store I have to pay $25.00 copayment for brand and $10.00 for generic for up to 34-day supply.

Therefore, I go and mail my prenatal vitamins and my daughter's eye drops through the mail for a 90-day supply to save money (or break even) as advertised. Nowhere in the instructions did it say that the doctor had to write a 90-day supply instead of a 30-day supply. I mean that's what the refills are for.
Now they are charging me a 90-day supply home delivery for a 30-days supply. I called them to ask why I was being sent only one month supply instead of three and that is when Jodie told me that the reason was because the doctor wrote 30-day supply instead of 90. I said that is why the refills are there for and she said that that didn't count. I told her that the instructions weren't clear and that not only was I paying double now but that I also lost a week of medication waiting for the delivery.
If I knew that I was going to be charged double then I would have taken it to a local pharmacy and gotten my medication right away. She said no so I asked if I could pay the $25 and she said I had to pay the $50.00. I asked to speak to a supervisor and I was transferred to Vivian who said that she would make a note that their instructions in the website never stated that the doctors had to write a 90-day prescription instead `of 30 with refills and that I had to pay double whether I liked it or not.

I am 10 weeks pregnant (with possible miscarriage) and am not handling being stolen from and lied to very well. I don't have money so being cheated $100.00 is a lot to me. I mean they could have called and asked if I wanted to lose money that way or told the doctor that he had to write a prescription for 90 days instead of 30.

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IsabelColorado Springs, CO

Reviewed March 26, 2004

My doctor wrote a prescription for 1 pill 3X a day with 3 refills. I sent the prescription to Medco along with $80.00, the cost of 90 days supply. When I called them, I was told that the prescription had to be written for 300 pills (they come 100 per bottle). I explained that the script clearly shows I will be taking this medicine for at least 90 days, so there is no reason for this. Besides, why would I pay $80.00 a month for something when the same $80.00 would cover 3 months?

I was never notified by Medco before they shipped so I can correct it before I paid all that money. And after looking at their website the only thing they say is that you can get up to 90 days at once - Nowhere does it say how it has to be worded. I don't understand that problem - what difference does it make if the doctor says 100 tabs/3 refills or 300 tabs? I feel really ripped off.

They say my doc can send a new script but since it's a new one I would have to pay the $80.00 again. When I try to explain to several CS reps they seem to be deliberately dense. I am unemployed single mother with a disabled child. I can't afford to pay $80.00 again. If I did, any savings from home delivery would be lost and it would be costing me more than if I went to the pharmacy. As it is, I have multiple autoimmune disorders but I have to pick and choose what scripts I fill because of finances. I cant afford to get ripped off.

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NellyCape Canaveral, FL

Reviewed Jan. 3, 2004

I sent in 4 prescriptions for 90-day supply of 3 stimulants and one antidepressant on 12-13-2003. I got the one for the antidepressant on 12-23-2003 which was sent through the US mail. I kept waiting for the other 3 medications to arrive which they usually send by UPS. My young child and I both suffer from ADD. My fourth grader takes one antidepressant and two stimulants for his treatment. I take one antidepressant and one stimulant for my treatment.

Since I am a college professor, my child and I have been off work/school until Jan. 5th 2004. We ran out of stimulants and have been trying to cope mentally without them un till we got our new supply of meds. Everyday, we tried not to leave our home since UPS requires an adult signature before delivering our meds. Finally on Jan. 2, we got two letters in the mail stating to call their offices about our meds, because they have not been able to reach us by phone. The letters were mailed by them on Dec. 26th. I called on Friday, Jan. 2nd and talked to Angeli at ex. 5171. She told me that because my doctors office was closed until Jan. 5th and they could not reach me, they cancelled all three of our meds and that now I had to get duplicate prescriptions for all three of them.

They said they did not have a phone number where to reach me but I stated that I put down both my home and work number on every RX order since they require them on their RX order forms. They did not offer me any excuses about why they did not have my number. Can they legally cancel people's prescriptions? My God, in this case, they are playing with the state of people's mental health.

This practice of cancelling people's RX's especially, controlled substances needed by people to be productive at work, concentrate so they can drive safely or be productive at school sounds like a good cause for a class action suit. I explained that my son and I had a doctor that was located 2 counties away from my home and the drive was 80 miles one way to travel to his office. Also that, I usually only visit my doctor once every three months. Also, that my doctor could not legally call in any new prescriptions since all three drugs were controlled substances and that he also never mailed these types of RX's to his patients. Also that this situation puts me in a bind since I needed to return to work and my son needed to return to school on Jan 5th without any RX's and this would severely effect my son's and mine ability to focus and be productive at work and at school.

I was given an emergency number to call to explain my situation but was also told that even after calling the number, there was no chance that they could fill my prescriptions without new ones. I did not call since I thought it would be a waste of time for time for me, not to mention the additional emotional upset this would cause for me.

My husband and I have decided to skip work on Monday Jan. 5th 2004 and travel to my doctor's office to try to get this situation straightened out in person and hopefully avoid any more runarounds from Medco Health. My husband has decided to come with me so that he could drive us safely and offer me some emotional support.

This is not the first time they have messed up the RX's for my family. Incidently, they have been filling the same three RX's for myself and my son for the last four years from the same exact doctor. I just don't understand why they need to call the doctor every time to verify the same three RX's each time before they fill them. It is very unfortunately that my insurance, Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Florida Federal employee Plan employs them as our only mail order option. I feel like I do not have the consumer choice to deal with anyone else.

My God, since Federal Employees are the largest group in the US, I would think they had a lot more power to get their employees better service then this. I could get my Rx's filled locally at a higher price and only at a 30 day supply only at one time because of its controlled substance status. This situation poses an additional hardship as far as money, and additional travel time to my doctor is concerned.

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MaryOceano, CA

Reviewed Dec. 31, 2003

12/6/03 sent 2 "triplicates" for 90 ea. to Medco Health.

12/15 called to follow-up since the pills had not arrived and only had 2-day supply left. I was told that the prescription was "cancelled" because the doctor had not responded to numerous calls for clarification and they didn't have time to keep dealing with it. I asked why I was not notified and was told they don't do that. I asked what the clarification was that was needed, she knew nothing. I immediately called my doctors office to relay the info. Doctors office said they had not been contacted or faxed at all by Medco.

Doctor wrote me 2 new triplicates that I had to drive 15 miles to pick up, and requested that I call Medco and see about getting the cancelled "triplicates" sent back, because the doctor said these had to be kept track of. Upon calling Medco back I was told that the prescriptions were being processed and would ship out 12/17/03. I asked how that could be when they cancelled them the day before. I was told whatever the problem was had been resolved.

In the meantime, I had to go to two local pharmacies to get the meds filled. When the 12/17 shipment did not arrive by 12/29 I called Medco again to follow-up. I was told they were due to ship out Jan.5 2004. When I asked why and relayed all this history, she knew nothing, however their records now reflected the pharmacist had gotten clarification, for what they couldn't say, and a fax renewing the original prescription. I found this very entertaining at this point and so did my doctor. Obviously someone is very creative with their record keeping.

Damage Resulting: Had to pay additional month's supply at retail rate until mail order arrives. This entailed 4 hours of time, driving to doctors office to pick up "triplicates", having to go to 2 different pharmacies to get meds filled, return trip to pharmacy while they contacted my insurance to explain problem for override prescription. I am not wanting any personal remedy, but would like it known for the record that this is very shabby record keeping for a large mail order pharmacy. (Scary)

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Jay,Columbia, SC

Reviewed Nov. 15, 2003

I mailed in 3 prescriptions for a 90-day supply. Even before they shipped it, I caught an error that one of the prescriptions was being filled for only a 30-day supply while I was being charged ($50) for a 90-day supply. The other two prescriptions were filled correctly for 90 days.

When I called them first, the customer rep investigated and apologized that there was an error in filling this prescription and I would get the remainder 60-day supply after the pharmacy confirmed with me on this prescription. On subsequent e-mails with the company, I have been given the runaround stating that the pharmacy has to 'research.' One excuse after the other. I am very concerned as I see on the web that this company is subject to a class action lawsuit of deliberately under-delivering quantities but overcharging based on higher quantities. I notice on this web site also that they did something similar to another customer.

Economic damage: Charged $50 for a 30-day supply when I should be getting a 90-day supply. Please note that a 30-day supply can be obtained for $23 in my retail pharmacy. Other damages: They are aggravating my medical condition by giving me a runaround from one customer rep to another.

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CarolFort Worth, TX

Reviewed Oct. 13, 2003

I submitted a doctor's prescription to Medco. Medco filled the prescription for a 30-day supply and charged a co-pay for a 90-day supply. When I called to refill the drug, I was told I would be billed again. I spoke with a representative who claimed that they could not fill a 90-day supply because the doctor had not written it that way but as a one-month supply with 5 refills.

I told him to cancel the order and return the prescription form to me. The representative said he would cancel the order. I was told to transfer the prescription the pharmacist would have to call Medco. Medco sent the drugs in spite of the cancellation request I had made. I returned the drugs to Medco. Another representative called me at work and attempted to sent the drugs to me again. When I told her that I did not want them, she told me I would have to pay for them anyway. When I refused to pay because I had cancelled,she threatened to ruin my credit history.
In attempting to transfer the prescription, the pharmacist was on the phone for 15 minutes before accessing a person who could not understand the request to transfer the prescription.

The ongoing incompetence, misinformation and bullying has greatly increased my blood pressure and stress levels which is what the medications are treating. At this time, I have not yet resolved Medco's bill and I am checking to see if I have been overcharged on other prescriptions.

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