TLDR: CVS had a glitch. I paid over $3500, and they refunded less than half. As a two-time cancer survivor, I must take various medications and cannot afford to miss more than 1-2 doses in a week. When my insurance changed from employer-paid to self-pay via COBRA, CVS's computer system had an unspecified error that meant my medication was no longer covered. To be clear, my insurance coverage never lapsed and I had reached my out-of-pocket maximum for that year already. Before this, I had 0% out-of-pocket responsibility. Because I was almost out of my medications I paid for them myself with a promise from the pharmacist that I would be refunded. This happened two months in a row and cost me over $3,500. After the system was fixed I submitted a refund request and received a check for less than $650. Several refills had been mistakenly labeled as duplicates, and few if any of the remaining medications received a full refund. Naturally, I disputed this amount, and after a few weeks, I received another check. This one was for less than $750. When I tried to dispute this again, I was handed to the representative who is paid to just tell the caller "No" in as many ways as needed, up to ignoring what I said. When I called another time I was put in touch with a consumer advocate, who told me that he wished things were different but there was nothing he could do. Apparently, it is company policy to only refund the discounted wholesale amount the company pays, and not the higher price an individual has to pay, despite the fact that the company is at fault for the problem. Most of the people answering the phone were incredibly helpful and friendly, and I understand they were merely messengers carrying bad news. The company policy itself is what is incredibly frustrating and abusive. Cancer is expensive, and if I had not been given money from friends and family to help pay for it my family would have $0 in our bank. This money was not just an inconvenience.
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