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Hello all!
I decided after a while away from the site to come back and share again with the people who will understand what I am talking about.
So for close to a year i worked in a call center. This call center took calls for a Medicare Part D plan. Which meant i had to explain to a lot of people that A) It was not president obama but president bush that gave them part D, STOP SAYING OBAMACARE! B) unless you have sent us a copy of the paperwork saying your the executioner of the estate i can only tell you to call social security or that anything the customer was alive for he is responsible for. C) Just because your doctor prescribed it doesn't mean its considered a Part D medication or is covered by your plan and D) yes you do have to pay for the insurance plan that is helping you cover the 50000 dollars worth of medication you take each year.
While I have a lot of stories and scars form this job..... (*whimper* prior coverage...) the one im sharing today is the one that got me fired.
So my call center/company was doing great in everything. So it was decreed that we had to be the best at surveys too or people will be fired. thats right people who we *KNOW* are highly medicated, insane, or show little to no regard to humanity will now determine if we keep our jobs.
I had been having head set issues for a while where either people couldn't hear me or i couldn't hear them. all the failed surveys i got still counted against me. But I was one of the best people on my team (a team so good they gave us bonuses) and was getting all 100s on my surveys after getting my head set replaced.
then comes one sunday.
BACKGROUND
at the beginning of 2013 the plan changed from having a pharmacy saver program where certain pharmacies (not all of the same brand had to participate) gave discounted rates on certain medications (not all pharmacies had the same list) to haveing preferred and non preferred pharmacies. Preferred pharmacies ment all the pharmacies in the chain for the pharmacies participating in the program offered the same base copays for all the covered medications by the plan. Which mean there was better coverage and lower overall copays at those pharmacies. Also if the pharmacy price was lower than the copay you still paid the lower amount. The list of pharmacies that choose to participate was pretty extensive basically only not covering mom & pops. The two bigwig companies where not participating though. CVS and Wal-mart. Wal-mart made sense because half the time their own pharmacy program meant the members where just paying Wal-marts standard price for the medication. CVS? Who knows. The fact CVS wasn't participating soon became one of the most annoying issues we faced. Thus my story.
THE TALE!
One sunday afternoon i get a call from a gentleman (cough) who decided now in june it is time to see what pharmacies he could use.
I offer to look up the pharmacies in his area.
He declines and says 'Is CVS covered?'
I kindly tell him that 'CVS can be a network pharmacy but is not participating in the new preferred network of pharmacies. You can still use it to fill your medications through plan if yours is in the network, which it most likely is sir, the copays will just be higher than the preferred network's copays' I then proceed to quote him his copays.
the gentleman then starts yelling and accusing the company of try to screw him over on copays and purposefully aren't working with CVS to hurt the elderly. That Walgreens charges a arm and leg for his medications and that CVS has cheaper medications so we should give them cheaper copays since the cost of his medications is lower than the copays i quoted him.
i patiently tell him 'Sir every pharmacy we work with had the chance to join the preferred network. I do not know why CVS is not participating. If you would like you could contact CVS' corporate offices and see why they did not join. As to price the copays work the same at a preferred and a non-preferred pharmacy. You pay your copay for your current coverage level based on the pharmacy your using unless the cost of the medication is lower, in which case you will always pay the lowest cost available to you, or it is a purchase that will tranistion you form one coverage level to another. If CVS is offering you an all around lower costing medication and that cost is less than your non-preferred copays we will not make you pay the more expensive amount.'
he then said 'So you're saying if i want to use CVS i just will have to pay more and deal with huh'
I replied 'No sir, I'm saying you can use any pharmacy covered by your plan and you will always, no matter what, pay the lowest price for your medication, wither that is the copay or that pharmacy's rate for the medication. If you choose to use CVS and the cost is lower than your copay like you said then you will pay that lower amount. You choose to change to a preferred network pharmacy you will pay the lowest amount there. It is entirely possible your best prices may be at CVS and we understand and encourage you to use the in network pharmacy you are most comfortable with.'
the guy gets even madder (i an here it in his voice) and says 'well you obviously don't want to help the elderly and are trying to make this as complicated as possible. How do i get to that damned survey'
I tell him how and say 'If you would like sir i would be happy to go over your copays, local pharmacies and explain how the copays work.'
he says 'screw you' and dials the survey
the next day im happily working a 5am- 5pm overtime galore shift when about 4 hours in i get pulled the survey supervisor. I listen to the call and read the survey.
I am then told im fired. Because i never used the word sorry. I am then basically told they dont care if i actually explained how copays work all they want is for me to shut up and just say im sorry over and over again.
thus started my unemployment joy.
I decided after a while away from the site to come back and share again with the people who will understand what I am talking about.
So for close to a year i worked in a call center. This call center took calls for a Medicare Part D plan. Which meant i had to explain to a lot of people that A) It was not president obama but president bush that gave them part D, STOP SAYING OBAMACARE! B) unless you have sent us a copy of the paperwork saying your the executioner of the estate i can only tell you to call social security or that anything the customer was alive for he is responsible for. C) Just because your doctor prescribed it doesn't mean its considered a Part D medication or is covered by your plan and D) yes you do have to pay for the insurance plan that is helping you cover the 50000 dollars worth of medication you take each year.
While I have a lot of stories and scars form this job..... (*whimper* prior coverage...) the one im sharing today is the one that got me fired.
So my call center/company was doing great in everything. So it was decreed that we had to be the best at surveys too or people will be fired. thats right people who we *KNOW* are highly medicated, insane, or show little to no regard to humanity will now determine if we keep our jobs.
I had been having head set issues for a while where either people couldn't hear me or i couldn't hear them. all the failed surveys i got still counted against me. But I was one of the best people on my team (a team so good they gave us bonuses) and was getting all 100s on my surveys after getting my head set replaced.
then comes one sunday.
BACKGROUND
at the beginning of 2013 the plan changed from having a pharmacy saver program where certain pharmacies (not all of the same brand had to participate) gave discounted rates on certain medications (not all pharmacies had the same list) to haveing preferred and non preferred pharmacies. Preferred pharmacies ment all the pharmacies in the chain for the pharmacies participating in the program offered the same base copays for all the covered medications by the plan. Which mean there was better coverage and lower overall copays at those pharmacies. Also if the pharmacy price was lower than the copay you still paid the lower amount. The list of pharmacies that choose to participate was pretty extensive basically only not covering mom & pops. The two bigwig companies where not participating though. CVS and Wal-mart. Wal-mart made sense because half the time their own pharmacy program meant the members where just paying Wal-marts standard price for the medication. CVS? Who knows. The fact CVS wasn't participating soon became one of the most annoying issues we faced. Thus my story.
THE TALE!
One sunday afternoon i get a call from a gentleman (cough) who decided now in june it is time to see what pharmacies he could use.
I offer to look up the pharmacies in his area.
He declines and says 'Is CVS covered?'
I kindly tell him that 'CVS can be a network pharmacy but is not participating in the new preferred network of pharmacies. You can still use it to fill your medications through plan if yours is in the network, which it most likely is sir, the copays will just be higher than the preferred network's copays' I then proceed to quote him his copays.
the gentleman then starts yelling and accusing the company of try to screw him over on copays and purposefully aren't working with CVS to hurt the elderly. That Walgreens charges a arm and leg for his medications and that CVS has cheaper medications so we should give them cheaper copays since the cost of his medications is lower than the copays i quoted him.
i patiently tell him 'Sir every pharmacy we work with had the chance to join the preferred network. I do not know why CVS is not participating. If you would like you could contact CVS' corporate offices and see why they did not join. As to price the copays work the same at a preferred and a non-preferred pharmacy. You pay your copay for your current coverage level based on the pharmacy your using unless the cost of the medication is lower, in which case you will always pay the lowest cost available to you, or it is a purchase that will tranistion you form one coverage level to another. If CVS is offering you an all around lower costing medication and that cost is less than your non-preferred copays we will not make you pay the more expensive amount.'
he then said 'So you're saying if i want to use CVS i just will have to pay more and deal with huh'
I replied 'No sir, I'm saying you can use any pharmacy covered by your plan and you will always, no matter what, pay the lowest price for your medication, wither that is the copay or that pharmacy's rate for the medication. If you choose to use CVS and the cost is lower than your copay like you said then you will pay that lower amount. You choose to change to a preferred network pharmacy you will pay the lowest amount there. It is entirely possible your best prices may be at CVS and we understand and encourage you to use the in network pharmacy you are most comfortable with.'
the guy gets even madder (i an here it in his voice) and says 'well you obviously don't want to help the elderly and are trying to make this as complicated as possible. How do i get to that damned survey'
I tell him how and say 'If you would like sir i would be happy to go over your copays, local pharmacies and explain how the copays work.'
he says 'screw you' and dials the survey
the next day im happily working a 5am- 5pm overtime galore shift when about 4 hours in i get pulled the survey supervisor. I listen to the call and read the survey.
I am then told im fired. Because i never used the word sorry. I am then basically told they dont care if i actually explained how copays work all they want is for me to shut up and just say im sorry over and over again.
thus started my unemployment joy.
This, exactly, is why I hate those surveys and the fact that Corporate holds them in such high regard! In a fair world filled with fair people, it would be an impartial and reputable tool. But this world and its people are anything but fair; far too many bullies, troublemakers and just plain assholes gleefully use the surveys as tools for causing problems for decent people. 
Which is basically what happened to you. I'm very sorry you got screwed over by one conniving creep. 
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