I take a anti-triglyceride drug and need 2 boxes per month. My normally chemist told me that the S-S will only reimburse 1 box and I have to pay for the other. This week I went to a different chemist to the one I normally use. When I offered my credit card to pay for 1 of the 2 boxes , I was told that contrary to what I had been told, the Social Security were happy to reimburse both boxes.
Does anyone know of a site that lists the medicines that the SS will reimburse and the limits that apply ?
If it turns out that both should be reimbursed, is there a mechanism for claiming back the 600€+ that I've paid out over the past couple of years ?
Odderer and odderer! I would head down to your local CPAM office, explain the situation to them and ask them whether there is a limit and what it is. You need independent confirmation of what the chemist is telling you. If they confirm there is a limit on what they will refund there may well be a way of getting authorisation from the CPAM "medecin conseil" to exceed it if your doc certifies, and the CPAM doc agrees, that the dosage he's giving you is essential. I would also be pressing the doctor to talk to the chemist and the CPAM.
Do you have a mutuelle? If so, talk to them as well as they are picking up the bill for what you have to fork out.
There isn't a problem with the prescription, it's that the quack is prescribing more than what the chemist thinks is the maximum reimbursable per month.
It's odd what happened to you. I'm assuming the prescription is marked something like "renouvelable 2 fois" which means you can present it three times before going to the doc to get a new prescription. I know that if you go back to the chemist too soon after getting your prescription filled a first time they will almost certainly refuse to serve you as they would be in trouble with the sécu which keeps an eye on how often they renew prescriptions. This has happened to me when I've wanted to get more supplies because I'm going away, for example. But for them to refuse to give you enough pills for a month suggests to me that either they've misread the prescription or your doctor has not prescribed a large enough quantity. If it happens again I'd check with your doctor that he's prescribed the correct amount.
In this case I don't think it is deliberate as the chemist told me the 2nd time I went in, the first time I wasn't charged.
As for the high prices, I think that anything that involves the S-S gets involved inpaying out for; drugs, taxis, glasses etc just drives the retail price up.
This seems to be so typical of the sort of things that happen all the time over here. I haven't decided yet whether it is deliberate or not. I had to pay 70 odd euros for some paracetomol and vitamin B the other week. I have to pay the full price mind you.....no carte vitale yet....
I got the same thing in England for less than a fiver....."ridicule"