Scary

This lead story in the New York Times this morning gave me a start: Insurance companies are quietly beginning to charge their clients/patients a much larger percentage of the true cost of expensive prescription drugs, often without any warning.

There are plenty of horror stories in this article, enough to make me think of the $4,000 or so that my drugs cost every month.

The whole drug thing is a giant-ass nuisance enough without having to pay even more for the privilege.

For instance: I was supposed to be taking chemo this week, finishing off this month's course before heading down the road this weekend. But the stupid hospital forgot to schedule my MRI and doctor's visit last week, when we had agreed it would occur, and instead had my appointments set for next week, when we'll already be gone. I was able to get a pair of squeeze-in appointments for this week, on Wednesday, but given the UW's poor history of coordinating with my online pharmacy, Caremark, and its poor record of speedy delivery, I'm dubious about getting the drugs before Saturday. So that's a drag. And who knows, still, whether they'll come through with three months worth of pills -- that's about $12,000 to you and me -- as promised.

Annoying.