The Saga Resolves (FOR NOW)

Wednesday, August 17, early afternoon: Accredo calls.
Karen: “I’m calling from Accredo, patient advocacy.” collects standard identifying information. “We show that insurance is covering both prescriptions with $0 co-pay. We can schedule your order now.”
Me: . o O (I want to know what happened to get the amount owed back to $0, but I’m not even gonna ask because maybe she’ll poke the wrong thing and it will reset to $7900.) “Great! Just a moment, we were about to go into Red Lobster to get lunch.”
Karen: “Oh, would you like to call us back?”
Me: “Oh no. Absolutely not. Please. Let’s schedule the delivery.”
Me: spends 20 minutes on the phone scheduling the order because they are required to read you the multi-page list of potential side effects and what you should do, among other time-consuming elements
Me to Lut: “So delivery is scheduled for tomorrow. I will believe it is being delivered tomorrow when you are holding the bottle in your hand.”
Me: *calls Sarah Cannon Cancer Center, leaves message asking them to call tomorrow with whether or not he should start the meds right away.

Early evening: I fly to Oregon for my nephew’s wedding, and forget my phone.

Thursday, August 18, late morning: Lut ACTUALLY RECEIVES THE MEDICATIONS.
Me: !!!
Me: calls the clinic from my sister’s phone to find out when he should start taking it
Clinic: “Now. Yes. Today would be good.”
Me: calls Lut to relay message and also explain the complex dosage stuff because the Ninlaro is once a week and taken the same day as five tiny dexamethasone pills and Revlimid has a side effect of blood clots so he needs to start taking aspirin again once he starts taking Revlimid

And that resolves it ... for this month. x_x His next cycle will start in four weeks, so in about 3 weeks, we begin anew. It SHOULD go more smoothly next time, since one way or another the out-of-pocket for Accredo for this year is now met.

Though I might give up on private insurance and switch Lut to Medicaid-only, which may or may not create new issues. The main reason I will do it is if I’m able to discern that Medicaid will in fact pay for all of his care if they’re the only insurer. I’ve been reluctant to quit private insurance because I know not everyone takes Medicaid (his primary care physician doesn’t, for instance.) But I also feel like I’m making some things (like this whole fiasco) unnecessarily complicated by having two insurers. :|