3 June 2022
We've been getting daily texts all week from the Kaiser pharmacy that Joyce's order for two months of Santyl had been delayed:
KP RxOrder Alert: Joyce, your order of SAN is experiencing an unexpected delay. We'll notify you when ready.
But late yesterday the pharmacy called and Joyce picked up the phone.
Listening to just her end of the conversation, I could tell right away it wasn't good news.
The Santyl Cat the Physician's Assistant had ordered had indeed come in but there was a problem.
The order was "too large," Joyce said the pharmacist told her. And it would cost $3,000 dollars.
What!?
First, if Cat prescribed it, it isn't too large. It's the prescription.
And second, three weeks of Santyl (90g) has, in the past, cost Joyce about $90, which is $30 a tube. Two months, or eight tubes, would be about $240. How do they figure $3,000?
She immediately canceled the order. No point having Santyl if you can't afford to eat too.
I told her to send an email to Dr. Tong (and hence to Cat). Maybe there was a billing mistake. I would expect Medicare Part D to cover this prescription. That's what the Santyl site says and the GoodRX site confirms that 99 percent of Medicare prescription drug plans cover it.
Santyl is the only FDA-approved biologic debridement agent. So we don't have an alternative. We do have one tube left, which should get us through next week. Mostly.
Plan B? Use Medihoney, supplied at no charge by the in-home nursing company. Not nearly as effective but better than nothing.
But we're not done with Plan A yet. This must be another episode in the Economy of Errors in which being Persistently Peeved must once again ride to the rescue.