Pills And Flu Shots

It is the end of the month and I am running low on the prescription that my doctor gave me for acid reflux which is actually Prilosec. So, I get this letter in the mail from my prescription administrator that says I MUST let them know if I want home delivery or to pick it up at a pharmacy RIGHT AWAY or else I will have to pay full price for my drug. I thought that was a little strange. I go to the website and register and it says that my prescription might be cheaper with home delivery so I choose that option and put in my information. Towards the end it is supposed to give me a total price but it says that it isn't sure what the price will be. Since I don't want to be surprised I changed my option to pick it up at the local pharmacy. That confused the system and it said I had to call them. I call them and stay on hold for a while. Finally I talk to a human and she looks up the price and says it is $15, the same as the pharmacy so there is no savings. I tell her that I want to decline home delivery because I don't want to pay for 3 months in advance, I might be able to get it cheaper since it is sold in stores, and I am not sure I want to continue taking it long-term. She couldn't argue with my first and last excuse but she did try to tell me how expensive name-brand Prilosec is. Yes, I know it is, thanks.

Since I was at the grocery store earlier I had looked to see if the store brand for Prilosec was on sale. It wasn't. Then I registered with Walgreens so I could refill my prescription online. I picked it up on the way home and paid $15 for 30 pills. Just for fun I checked their Prilosec to see if it was on sale. It was! They had a deal where you buy one box of 28 pills for $16 and get a box of 14 pills for free. With tax it came out to around 40 cents a pill verses 50 cents a pill with the prescription. I was tempted to buy them all but since I am trying be under-budget this month I picked up two boxes. I might go back and get more, I haven't decided yet. But now I have enough for about 4 months so I could just wait and hope there is another sale 4 months from now.

And also, when I was at the doctor last week I thought since I was there, I would ask about the flu shot. He told me that they didn't order any vaccines this year because last year they were back-ordered and by the time they came in everyone had gone elsewhere for their shot. Then I asked at the Walgreens pharmacy because they had signs all over the store. They said they had the vaccine but that insurance doesn't cover it because it is from the pharmacy. I would have to go to Walgreens or CVS with the clinics inside in order for my insurance to cover it. That is what I did last year. Too bad it isn't very convenient because the closest one is 30 minutes away and I usually have a dog in the car when I am on that side of town. It's either pay $25 for the flu shot nearby or spend time and gas for the free one. I'll have to combine the trip with emptying my recycling and a stop at Big Lots to make the drive worth it. I hope I don't get the flu before that.