American Healthcare Nightmares

Desperation Bordering on Despondent

I swear Aetna is tryin’ ta kill me!

That’s how I feel anyway.

Aetna is my insurance company this year.

Okay… I take several medications. For my asthma, I’ve been prescribed Dulera for maintenance, Claritin for allergies, and Albuterol for rescue. My doctor has me on Trulicity, Jardience, and Glipizide for my diabetes.

Image drawn in Adobe Illustrator by the author

As discussed in my previous post on this morass, I’m still trying to figure out how to pay for my Dulera. I still may not get my Trulicity because of manufactured scarcity. Like so many diabetics, I’m struggling to find any pharmacy with it available. My doctor put me on Trulicity and Jardience at the same time, switching me from Victoza. I’ve been taking Jardience for about a year and a half. There are no supply issues with Jardience.

However, out of the blue today, the insurance company declined to cover it. They are now demanding prior authorization — after five months of this year filling the prescription with no hiccups. Prior authorization can take up to six weeks. I currently have four pills left.

I called Aetna and they pushed through an override to get me one month more of the medicine while the prior…