TRT more expensive in certain states?

willdethronephil · Jul 20, 2016

so I'm trying to figure out why the hell my prescription is so expensive and if it's state related or not. the pharmacy people are clueless... so is my doctor. so i have a prescription for 200mg/week. my doc writes it as 2 10ml vials, but the damn pharmacy only fills it like 3ml at a time so i have to go in all the time and those little ass vials are like $22 each so i'm paying over $200 for a damn vial of test.. wtf? i just did my check in and got a fresh script so i'm wondering if this is a state thing and i can just order out of state pharmacy or just dumb local policy? you need a script for needles in my state so i order those on ebay with no issue, is it like that?

would appreciate any help, thanks!

BigRisk · Jul 20, 2016

Yup gotta find a cool pharm otherwise they only fill ur script for the dosing and time frame not the qty... So he writes 1ml every 7 days they will only fill a 90 day supply which a 10ml bottle is only 70 day.. It's all screwy point is they don't give the qty prescribed they fill on the dosing

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willdethronephil · Jul 20, 2016

BigRisk said:
Yup gotta find a cool pharm otherwise they only fill ur script for the dosing and time frame not the qty... So he writes 1ml every 7 days they will only fill a 90 day supply which a 10ml bottle is only 70 day.. It's all screwy point is they don't give the qty prescribed they fill on the dosing

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well fuk sounds like a great way to bleed money out of people for an otherwise affordable prescription... do you know if this is this a federal thing, a policy, or a state thing ? i've been putting up the money and just dealing with it forever but i've just about had it paying over $200 for test that probably costs $1 to produce... insurance covers nothing it just goes towards a deductible i'm never going to meet... love that i pay 1,000 per month for this insurance to cover dik. lol Afforable care act/10

maldorf · Jul 20, 2016

It is a controlled substance, lower than something like morphine but it is still controlled so that is why they cannot give you more than what you are getting retail. I order mine through the mail, my insurance uses a company, and I am able to get a 3 month supply all at once. I guess you are able to do it through mail order but not at retail because I had the same experience as you. The doctor is not allowed though to write me a script that will last me 1 year, it only goes 6 months and so that is just 6 months. The 6 months worth of test for your script is a federal thing again I am pretty sure. Pretty sure you are only able to get 3 months at a time too. The 3 month thing might be insurance related.

I had the same expense as you when I had to buy it retail once. My mail order ran out of supply and I was forced to buy it retail. A little 1 ml vial that is 200 mg/ml cost me $50. Simply insane. I am able to get mine mail order 3 month supply for just $60 or so. My insurance does not want me to buy retail obviously, and this is because they are able to do things a lot less expensive going through the mail order pharm. You should check to see if you have a mail order to get your scripts. I order all of my meds that way, and now after my heart attack that is a lot of medicine.

Wow, 200mg/wk is a high dose for a HRT script from a doctor. Most put you on 200 mg/ 2weeks. I had mine put me on 100 mg/week, and so I get 2x the needles. 100 mg/wk puts me at around 800 total testosterone on a blood test.

maldorf · Jul 20, 2016

willdethronephil said:
well fuk sounds like a great way to bleed money out of people for an otherwise affordable prescription... do you know if this is this a federal thing, a policy, or a state thing ? i've been putting up the money and just dealing with it forever but i've just about had it paying over $200 for test that probably costs $1 to produce... insurance covers nothing it just goes towards a deductible i'm never going to meet... love that i pay 1,000 per month for this insurance to cover dik. lol Afforable care act/10

Our deductible is $3000 for the year and we hit that by May. We now have benefits,lol! Most of use have a deductible. With the ACA, a lot of the really great insurance plans had to be dropped to lesser coverage because the employer would be forced to pay an extra tax for each employee on the plan. The ACA has a built in tax for what they consider "Cadillac" plans. I have a relative that had his health insurance plan change because of it.

BigRisk · Jul 20, 2016

This should be moved to the hrt thread

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willdethronephil · Jul 20, 2016

maldorf said:
It is a controlled substance, lower than something like morphine but it is still controlled so that is why they cannot give you more than what you are getting retail. I order mine through the mail, my insurance uses a company, and I am able to get a 3 month supply all at once. I guess you are able to do it through mail order but not at retail because I had the same experience as you. The doctor is not allowed though to write me a script that will last me 1 year, it only goes 6 months and so that is just 6 months. The 6 months worth of test for your script is a federal thing again I am pretty sure. Pretty sure you are only able to get 3 months at a time too. The 3 month thing might be insurance related.

I had the same expense as you when I had to buy it retail once. My mail order ran out of supply and I was forced to buy it retail. A little 1 ml vial that is 200 mg/ml cost me $50. Simply insane. I am able to get mine mail order 3 month supply for just $60 or so. My insurance does not want me to buy retail obviously, and this is because they are able to do things a lot less expensive going through the mail order pharm. You should check to see if you have a mail order to get your scripts. I order all of my meds that way, and now after my heart attack that is a lot of medicine.

Wow, 200mg/wk is a high dose for a HRT script from a doctor. Most put you on 200 mg/ 2weeks. I had mine put me on 100 mg/week, and so I get 2x the needles. 100 mg/wk puts me at around 800 total testosterone on a blood test.

thanks, check your PM's when you get a minute

Big Vin · Jul 21, 2016

maldorf said:
It is a controlled substance, lower than something like morphine but it is still controlled so that is why they cannot give you more than what you are getting retail. I order mine through the mail, my insurance uses a company, and I am able to get a 3 month supply all at once. I guess you are able to do it through mail order but not at retail because I had the same experience as you. The doctor is not allowed though to write me a script that will last me 1 year, it only goes 6 months and so that is just 6 months. The 6 months worth of test for your script is a federal thing again I am pretty sure. Pretty sure you are only able to get 3 months at a time too. The 3 month thing might be insurance related.

I had the same expense as you when I had to buy it retail once. My mail order ran out of supply and I was forced to buy it retail. A little 1 ml vial that is 200 mg/ml cost me $50. Simply insane. I am able to get mine mail order 3 month supply for just $60 or so. My insurance does not want me to buy retail obviously, and this is because they are able to do things a lot less expensive going through the mail order pharm. You should check to see if you have a mail order to get your scripts. I order all of my meds that way, and now after my heart attack that is a lot of medicine.

Wow, 200mg/wk is a high dose for a HRT script from a doctor. Most put you on 200 mg/ 2weeks. I had mine put me on 100 mg/week, and so I get 2x the needles. 100 mg/wk puts me at around 800 total testosterone on a blood test.

Maldorf has it right. Since it's controlled, you have to get a fresh script every 6 months...even if you have multiple refills left. Happens to me all the time.
Doc has me on 200 mg per week as well. 2 x 100MG. He specifically writes on the script "one 10 ML vial"...and the dosage. Usually puts 5 refills, which you could never use before the 6 months anyway.
I called my insurance just before going on TRT and explained that I wanted 10ML vials only...and verify that they were covered. I asked exactly how they want the script written too. I have it written the same way each time. $10 copay per 10ML vial. (Watson). This is United Healthcare and I'm in TX if that matters. Walgreens is my pharmacy.

Big Vin · Jul 21, 2016

You know you guys can always use the Goodrx coupon and get your 10ML vial for like $45 right? No insurance needed.
You need to explain what's going on to your doc and make sure he writes "one 10ML vial" on the script...then you can buy it retail with the coupon. Yes, of course you need the script. Your pharmacy will give you the 10ML...and they also let you know when you'll be eligible for another( as long as you have refills), if you ask. It's 10 weeks if you are using 200MG per week...but they will give you the exact day. You can use the coupon every time. I know several guys that do this. $45 isn't too bad.

Turkishexpress · Jul 21, 2016

A lot of the rules are state based as well. In TX I can get the 200mg/ml 10ml bottle for $10 with insurance. Here in IL it's a bit more and they're a lot more strict with refill etc...

Ashop · Jul 21, 2016

Some insurances from what I understand will not cover TRT and then your stuck paying full pharma retail so it could range from a few dollars to over 100 hundred USD is some areas of the world.