Back on Meds...Again


The reality of being adherent to HIV treatment when you are not wealthy is that it takes an idiotic amount of legwork and time just to get a tiny pill that you need to live. Nevermind the monetary costs involved, or the bureaucratic nightmare of coordinating amongst Ryan White as well. With HIV it is best if you are financially wealthy otherwise remaining in treatment is as devastating as the virus itself.

After being off of my HIV meds for a week, today I was finally able to go back on them. I know HIV advocates and my doctor would be clutching their pearls to know I have not been adherent. All of the magazine articles and HIV organizations are always talking about adherence (never ever going off of your meds, never forgetting to take your pill or pills) as though it is as easy as 1, 2, 3. Sadly, the reality is such that remaining on meds and in care is not as simple as the "good" HIV people seem to portray. Life gets in the way, things happen...often things outside of one's control.

I called on December 26th to order a refill of my Stribild. But Accredo, the specialty pharmacy my medical insurance forces me to us, told me that they deleted my insurance info because they received my 2016 insurance info. That in itself makes zero sense as the year was not finished yet. A pharmacy supposedly dedicated to advocating for their patients (their customer service reps are called Patient Care Advocates) does the opposite by making assumptions that their patients may need to order meds on the last few days of the year.

On December 26th I had 5 pills left. Accredo always overnights medications. So by all accounts I was well within the realm of responsibility in calling to order my meds.

The customer service rep told me that it would take 3-4 days to load my insurance information (the information they deleted), so it would be best if I called back January 1st to order my meds. Funny...when I go to WalMart or CVS or Walgreens they enter my insurance info as I am standing there; it takes a matter of minutes, not days. I am not sure why it takes Acccredo days to do so.

So I called back on January 1st. And it took them a week to process my prescription, run the claim, ship it out, etc. I made 4 phone calls and sent an email; nothing I said or did would speed them up one bit.

Apparently this will be the new normal, because my new insurance under BCBS of Tennessee only allows them to send a 30-day supply instead of the 90-day supply I was receiving previously. And on top of everything else, if you call too soon to order your meds they tell you they cant send them until a certain amount of days go by.





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