I have a suggestion. Can you call your insurance company and doctor, let them know about the problem with Express Scripts, and request that a one time prescription be honored for double the medication you use in one month. That way, you will always be one month ahead.

I have had the same problems with Express Scripts...and my Dr. has too. I did tell

my Insurance carrier...they didn't seem too excited one way or the other. On the

meds I use, I usually get a 90 day supply..but, then they just wait even longer to

refill. Sometimes your Dr., can get "creative" on the prescription though. But,

sooner or later Express Scripts wins. Sorry, I don't have an answer for you.

Ditto Uptown. I've had the same issue.....

annoying.

Here's another person with similar problems. I hate when I have to get a new prescription, knowing the troubles it's no doubt going to be. When I'm having problems now, I go online AND make a copy of the latest they've put on there. Almost every time I'd look for the prescription written for me in Apr this year, info would change. First it said it was in process, next changed when it could be filled, then cancelled, then that there was a problem with what the dr prescription. It took several phone calls, and a wait of 3 wks to get it filled. I kept copies of each time I looked online.

I hope you get the problem resolved soon.

So frustrating to deal with incompetence when any time, but especially when you're ill. Thanks for sharing, it really helps, and that's what we're here for. (((Hugs)))

Call the express scripts number, talk to a person, tell them you may need meds for the few days before a mail order arrives. It's been my experience that they quickly call an order into a local pharmacy for pickup or delivery. Don't panic, good luck.

I don't have to deal with any kind of regular prescriptions so forgive me if this is ignorance on my part but is there another company that provides the same service? Or perhaps a local pharmacy that offers delivery?

You shouldn't have to deal with this happening over and over.

Express scripts is a wonderful perk for military retirees. But it does require patience and vigilance to keep the deliveries on schedule. We find the many robo calls we get for each perscription very annoying.

When we get a call saying we need a refill, Express will contact our doctor. I call the office myself and discuss the refill with the PA in charge of electronic perscriptions. Never had it work out correctly if they are contacting doctors office. To complicate things further. New York state will not allow narcotic scripts to be delivered by mail. So things like Ambein must be picked up every 30 days and renewed every 4th month. All complaining aside, we are greatful everyday to have the coverage.

I hate Express Scripts too, but that is what my Aetna Medicare has. I don't use the mail-in prescriptions any more. We get ours filled at the Kroger Pharmacy and pay our co-pay. I got so sick of all of those calls. "Express Scripts received your order." Express Scripts is processing your order." Express Scripts will be mailing your order" and then "Express Scripts has mailed your order." Geeesh....FOUR calls! I was on a prescription that Express Scripts decided they would no longer cover and had to go with a cheaper med which isn't near as good as my original. Money is the name of the game with all of these danged insurances....money for them.

When one has Tricare, the choice is ExpressScripts for home delivery or go to a military base and pick up the prescriptions. A "one time only" prescription can go directly to RiteAid, but not drugs take all the time. It's why I drive to Ft Knox for my prescriptions that are on their formulary.

It used to be quite an ordeal at Ft Knox, especially with the new prescriptions annually (no renewal - just start fresh once a year). It could take 2-3 hrs - sometimes even longer - to get my prescriptions. Not long enough to drive home and go back. I'd go to the PX (always spent money on things I didn't really need), or the Commissary (and take a cooler to get it back home) - still wait.

A couple of years ago, they moved one of the pharmacies to its own building and all prescriptions are filled robotically. Far fewer errors, VERY quick - I never wait more than 15 minutes with the annual new prescriptions, and with refills usually less than 5 minutes. What a difference! And I save a LOT of money by not going near the PX!

One can only wonder why ExpressScripts cannot do the same. Robots for pharmacies are the future - more accurate and quicker, and yes, a pharmacist DOES check that the prescriptions are compatible before entering them into the computer.

Yes, speaking as both a consumer/patient and a prescriber, mail order pharmacies can be a PITA. However, please try to be grateful for drug coverage that many people don't have.

At times, I found Costo pharmacy (you don't have to be a member to use it) to be less expensive - than using insurance.

For the other meds, has your doc considered switching you to something on formulary? I've worked with the government formulary and it is not bad, have seen less choices at some civilian hospitals.

These are the reasons I do not use Express Scripts. I can add another reason. The drug package is delivered by dropping it on my front step and maybe the delivery person might ring the door bell. If you are not home, there it sits until you come back. Until then, its available for pilfering and thievery. If the package contains insulin, that can be frozen and ruined in our brutal winters before you discover the package. In these hectic times, delivery-men are under pressure and can not take the time for the recipient to answer the door, and if there's no answer, take the package back for later delivery.

I work in a pharmacy (put down the pitchforks! haha). And I understand the frustration from both sides. A lot of times when I worked retail we would fax the dr's offices for refill requests and never hear back. We'd call and they'd say they never got the fax and that we needed to fax it again. Sometimes it is the dr's offices to blame but it's easier to yell at the people in the pharmacy I suppose cos you don't need an appointment. And when you call try to be patient. I understand being frustrated but most likely in a mailing facility setting you wont be talking to the person that had anything to do with your rx. We all have worked with a person that doesn't know what they are doing and then we get yelled at for it. So please try to be kind :)

Maybe what you can do is call your dr's office and verify their info. Phone number and fax. Then call Express Scripts and verify that information with them. Also a little tip for everyone. You can call in your scripts before they're due. We can change the date that the computer processes them to the date that the insurance tells us they are due. Double check with your pharmacy just to make sure this is something they do. I work for a gov pharmacy and luckily once it's called in we don't have to do anything. Even if it's early the system will process it when it's due.

Exoress Scripts is by mail only (for me anyway). I do use my local Pharmacy on one-time scripts and have no problems with them. But for on-going meds I have to use

Express Script...haven't a clue who, where or how many pharmacists are involved. Only deal with the "business end" I guess. And, the meds come from different parts of the

Country...wherever they can get them cheaper? Actually, I guess they are move of a

broker.

Anglophilia, please check your Tricare for Life instructions. If you are short, your doctor can prescribe any meds for 1 month to get at your next pharmacy, possible small co-pay. Some meds can only be prescribed on a monthly basis, as per law in Ky.

Express Scripts is a prescription benefit processing company for employers. They do mail order for cost containment purposes. My employer uses Express Scripts and offers the mail order approach as an option (and encourages use by reducing co-payments). I choose to get my stuff from a retail pharmacy (one of the national chains) and the cost difference to me is just one extra month's co-pay for each item per quarter (three if using a retail pharmacy, two if using the mail order). The company behind the scenes doing the administration could be any one of the several in this business because it's mostly invisible to me and other covered individuals.

Ultimately, the benefits, costs, formularies, etc., are what the employer chooses to provide and Express Scripts is just there to do the administration and processing. I'm sorry if the situation you're in leads to periodic problems. Other than the bureaucracy that you find in any insurance or benefit providing organization, and which is part of the cost control the ultimate payer is looking for, I haven't experienced them being any worse than others.

Further to what mdln said, there are other companies in addition to Costco who provide some drugs in generic form at pretty low cost. If that applies to you, you might also look into seeing what Walmart or Walgreens could provide.

I haven't read all the responses and this may not even be of any help, but I had to deal with them monthly for years to get my husbands medication. After a year of frustration, I was fortunate enough to find a supervisor that was nothing short of amazing. And I truly mean that. I have her contact information and would be happy to pass it on to you, but not in a forum setting. Even after she helped me find a resolve to our issues and they were huge, she had me call her every month so moving forward she could make sure the process went smoothly for me. If you want to message me, I'll be happy to provide her name and number to you.