Unfiltered Story #351281

It’s the beginning of the year and many prescription co-pays will be very high since many people will be restarting their deductibles. This man comes in to pick up a prescription for his son’s adderall which is very expensive. I explain that the prescription has been billed to his insurance and then pull up his claim information and show him his deductible, explaining that his prescription will cost a large amount in the beginning of the year and show him the amount remaining after if he pays for this prescription today.
Me: “So today, the prescription will be $300 today, but this will go towards your deductible and you’ll have $2,200 remaining after you pick up this medication.”
Customer: “I’ve never had to pay this much!”
Me: “If you would like to call your insurance to verify the price, you are certainly free to do so.”
I print him the information I have available and circle the numbers for him, again explaining he will owe $300 today for the prescription and that after it is paid for, it will be applied towards his remaining deductible for all his family’s prescriptions. He leaves and returns the next day.
Customer: “You were wrong!”
He slams down the paper I had given him the day before, pointing to the $2,200 labeled “remaining deductible” and then pointing to the category labeled “applied to this claim” which sports a $300 co-pay.
Customer: “My insurance said this $2,200 amount was my entire deductible for ALL my prescriptions! You said I owed this amount yesterday! The prescription is only $300!”
Me: “Correct, that $2,200 is the remaining deductible for all your prescriptions that must be paid for the co-pays to be lowered. Your co-pay for this prescription will still be $300 today.”
Customer: “You were wrong…the insurance company said it was $300, not the $2,200!”
Me: “Yes, the prescription, as I explained yesterday, is $300. I billed your insurance and this is the price they gave me.”
Customer: “Yeah, $300, not $2,200! I knew you were wrong.”
At this point, I realize he isn’t quite understanding that he is repeating all the information I told him yesterday…back to me. I just smile and continue checking him out at the register and handing him off to the pharmacist for a consult. It’s remarkable that people can repeat exactly what you told them despite not having listened to you at all.