Complain about a product or service

Express Scripts

kristine of Martinsburg, WV November 14, 2009

You name it, it has happened. I am always running out of needed meds that I will be on for a lifetime! I have been sent drugs that I did not order, and was told that I would have to swallow the cost. To this day I do not know how Express Scripts got their greedy hands on a perscription that was to be, and was filled local. I collected all the paper work showing that it was a new trial drug, with only a 30 day supply. My doctor instructed me to fill it local to see if it help. After 3 days I had to discontinue use and informed my doctor. Express Scripts refused to tell me how they got a perscription that I did not submit, nor did my doctors office.

When all this was presented to the supervisor i got a bunch of run around, and not an answer to a simple question. Which was, how did this happen if I did not request the drugs? It's like asking a thief to tell you the truth. It will not happen in my lifetime. I suffer from cronic nerve damage pain, depression, migrains, and a brain aneurysm. I am only 38 and have always live a very active healthy lifestyle for the most part. The aneurysm makes me extreamly easy to annoy among other things! This company has made living with my condition unbariable! I am being held hostage by this company! Isn't there anything that can be done? Do I continually have to go through withdrawl symptoms because of this companies failure to provide us with the service needed? I guess the answer is yes, money wins over anything else! My life and care is not mine to determine, it is in the hands of Blue Cross and Express Scripts.

Dennis of El Paso, TX November 8, 2009

We have never worked with a more unprofessional, disorganized, mistake ridden organization and I work in education. My wife requires several maintenance drugs which ES can't get straight, figure out what is what from the Doctor and tell us that a specific med is unavailable due to the fact she already has filled it and it will be several months before she can get it.. It was a new prescription.

We have received phone messages that say that we have to do nothing but wait on the delivery and letters, dated at least a week behind, stating we owned money... I am glad I don't have to put up with this... Fortunately We can opt out of the service... pay more and get our meds...

tammy of gettysburg, PA November 3, 2009

when i received my pain med which i take 2x a day and was to get 3 months worth the bottle said 180 pills and inside there was only 60 pills notified them right away on october 17 and here we are nov,3rd and still nothing so now I'm starting to run low on my med and am still fighting with them, I started counting this time because last time I ran out too soon this company is a plain nightmare... all they seem to do is refer you from one person to another and do nothing! without my pain medicine I can't even get out of bed I'm on disability make sure my bill is paid put up with my meds being late and now this I find it hard to believe that I'm the only one this has ever happened to so what am I to do when my med runs out?

Wes of Houston, TX November 2, 2009

The past four prescriptions that my physician has faxed over have never been received by ES. It is very frustrating to have to continue to call to see if my prescription was received. The most recent incident was last week, my physician faxed over 2 medications that I was running low on. I called on Thursday to see if they received the fax. They stated no, but it usually takes 24-48 hours to have them entered in the system.

I called Friday, they still hadn't received it. Saturday the same story. Today I called and spoke with a supervisor because they still hadn't received it. This game is very old with them, it's irresponsible and puts patient's life in danger. I am out of medication now.

Alejandro of Miami, FL October 26, 2009

I am so tired of the games this company plays! They have done this to me on several occasions but now they have gone too far!

My wife is undergoing surgery tomorrow and was given a prescription by her doctor for pain killers. When she went to have it filled she was told that Express Scripts denied it on the basis that there are cheaper alternatives. Her doctor called Express Scripts to explain that this prescription was what he recommends since the alternatives they recommend would upset her stomach. STILL DENIED IT.

Instead of getting prepared for her surgery tomorrow, we have been given a runaround the likes you only read and hear about in the news. The first customer service number said they could not help us and referred us to the Pre-Authorizations department. This department later said they could not help us and referred us to their "Dedicated Team" group.

This group at first did not want to speak with me because I did not know the name of the medication being denied. Even though she had the name perfectly written on the screen, this agent (Ashley) said that because I was calling on behalf of my wife I needed to prove it in this manner. I handed the phone to my wife who told the representative I was authorized to speak on her behalf. When my wife handed me the phone back Ashley was still playing this game and said I needed to give her the name of the drug. Neither I nor my wife could remember the exact name, that's when I insisted I speak with her supervisor.

I was on hold for 10-min before a supervisor appeared (Elisha). This was clearly a stall tactic. Elisha said that the procedure to have the decision reassessed required that I have my doctor write a letter, that would then need to be sent by snail mail to an address in Minnesotta where it would then be evaluated. Of course- there is no way to do this online (how convenient).

Dianna of Dublin, CA October 18, 2009

Express Scripts seems to be fraudulently avoiding the FORMULARY EXCEPTION / 98 COPAY OVERRIDE so that I end up paying more for my prescription. Express Scripts lost my doctor’s original authorization for the FORMULARY EXCEPTION / 98 COPAY OVERRIDE. My Doctor called in again and they said it was too late. I sent and faxed an Appeal to their Pharmacy Appeals Department, which included the request from my doctor for FORMULARY EXCEPTION / 98 COPAY OVERRIDE. They also lost my appeal, claiming to have never received it.

Anna of Mountain Brook , AL September 29, 2009

Express Scripts has given deceitful information about the benefits for fertility regulators. At first, Renee, a customer representative, told me that I would need to contact Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama regarding my prescription benefits. I did not fall for this "manuever" since I have heard this run-around game for five years from both Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama and Express Scripts. One company would direct me to call the other for information.

When Renee discovered that I would not accept this explanation, she then contacted a supervisor. His name was Aaron from Colorado. He would not agree to send me a copy of my benefits. In order to obtain a copy, I was directed to contact Corporate Quality and put my request in writing. He claimed that Corporate Quality could not be reached by telephone by customers. The only two contacts that he would convey to me were the president, George Paz, and Corporate Quality. Please note that the two contacts have the same address.

Like I alluded to earlier, I have been given similar information about my prescription drug benefits for the past five years. Having fertility problems has been difficult; however, the financial strain has intensified the situation. My "lifetime maximum benefits" for fertility regulators is 2,500. A one-month treatment for an IUI requiring Follistim and/or Menopur on average is around 2,200. My last treatment required medication that cost 3,330. The "lifetime maximum benefits" is simply an insult to people dealing with fertility issues.

Kristina of Waynesboro, PA September 23, 2009

I requested a refill of my Nasonex nasal spray 8/26/09. ES needed to call my dr. to get the refills. My dr. office faxed the RX on 8/28/09. After waiting and not hearing anything or receiving anything from ES I called my dr office on 9/15/09. They told me they faxed it but would fax it again that same day. They did. ES received this RX. They refused to fill it because there was a generic available for a DIFFERENT drug (Flonase) but in the same class. They said my dr could fax some information for prior authorization. My dr used the form and faxed the needed info that day (9/18/09). At this time I was out of my nasal spray and had a sinus infection. My dr. office called in Nasonex to the local pharmacy. ES refused to fill it because they wanted me to try generic Flonase first. The cost of the Nasonex would be 109. ES said they needed additional information (age, pregnancy status, and prior meds tried) even though this info was not originally requested. My dr. office faxed the additional information on the following Monday (09/21/09). I was advised by my personnel office to contact Capital Blue Cross and have them work on it. I did this on 9/21/09. The CSR took the info and refered it to the "drug" department that deals with these things. On 9/22/09 a rep from this department called me and left a message.

When I called her back she said that my prior authorization had been denied because I had not tried the generic Flonase. I have been on Nasonex for quite some time. My dr. does not like Flonase because in her patients it has not worked well and had many side effects including severe nose bleeds. This runs in my family anyway. The CSR from Capital Blue Cross told me that according to ES they are done with this issue and will not fill what my dr ordered. I now have to go through the appeal process with Capital Blue Cross. Their physicians will review all the info and determine if the nasal spray I have been taking and has been working is okay for them to fill. I am still sick and had to spend another 45 for antibiotics. Luckily my dr. had samples of Nasonex that she gave me. I am on other medications and am concerned about drug interactions. What I had was working so why change it. How can someone who does not know me nor my medical history (ES clinical pharmacist) make a determination about my health?

P-Jo of Warner Robins, GA September 22, 2009

While we were out of town, Express Scripts sent a perishable refill of a prescription. It was way too early for a refill, and we were not expecting one. They claim that we responded to a phone call from them and authorized the shipment. We would never have done so, knowing we were going to be out of the state. As a matter of fact, only one of us was home at the time they claim to have called, and he, being disabled, rarely answers the phone. Now we are stuck with useless ruined medication (injections of Humira), and they refuse to do anything about it. They swear by our "stamped" authorization, which would have been stamped by the person who called and spoke to us, which simply did not happen. We hope we can stop Tricare for paying for this shipment in time. Normally, Tricare is very strict about early refills. I will never do any business with these people again.

Cynthia of Ronceverte , WV September 17, 2009

Although I have worked in the health insurance industry for over 15 years, and I have witnessed first hand the red tape involved for covered members to get medications pre-authorized by their insurance companies, I have never seen such incompetency as when I dealt with Express scripts. It took over a month to get my medication pre-authorized through Express Scripts. Meanwhile, I ran out of the medication, and my doctor had to supply me with samples. I was given conflicting information by Express Scripts customer service staff. None of the customer service staff had any documentation of my previous phone calls, even though I had names of CSRs with whom I had spoken. I was told by one CSR that maybe I should go back to using my old hyperlipidemia lowering medication, to prove that I had experienced adverse side effects! The customer service staff told me that they had no record of requests from my physician for pre-auths for medications, when he had both called and faxed the request to their pre-auth department. When I followed up with a phone call to my doctor's office, they advised me that Express Scripts had pre-authorized my medication two weeks prior to my most recent phone call. So, none of Express Scripts Customer Service staff even knew that the medication had already been pre-authorized. I had used a pharmacy mail order system previously (MEDCO) and received excellent customer service and prompt pre-authorization and delivery of my medication. So, I know that good service is available through a pharmacy mail order system. I was extremely dissatisfied with the service that I received from Express Scripts.

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