lack of insurance

In addition to my anxiety/depression, I just learned I'm about to lose my health insurance through work (employer dropping it company wide). Am barely making it financially paycheck to paycheck. Have been taking Clonazapam for nearly 10 years and still "experimenting" with proper anti-depression meds. Without insurance, my mental meds go too - not sure if I can handle that.

Any ideas?

I'm so sorry. Due to the economy so many companies are cutting corners on healthcare and it has drastic effects on the employees. Private insurance is expensive as that is what I have, but I'm not sure how long my savings will continue to cover it. You might check with government aid and see if you qualify.

If you don't live in the US, disregard whatever I have to say.

1. Clonazepam is not that expensive, so you can probably afford to buy it yourself if you need to.
2. Is your employer providing any information for employees about how to sign up for government-sponsored health care? You probably will qualify for a low cost plan.
3. You can call United Way at 211 and explain your situation to them. They should have information for you about resources in your community for people without insurance. I had to do this in January of this year and found a mental health agency that was state-sponsored where I see a physician's assistant for psych meds prescribing. They also helped me to sign up for a Patient Assistant Program for my antidepressant, because it's not generic, so I'm getting it free now.

It's all a big pain of paperwork, but I managed to replace my health care providers after I, too, lost my health insurance.

I hope that you'll be able to find some low cost insurance. Just be careful to read what kind of deductible and prescription copayment any policy has.

You can also check online for a medication to see if the manufacturer has a patient assistance program and how to apply for it.

Good luck.

Unfortunately, without going into details, my employer won't do squat about transitioning into another form of insurance (one of the reasons I'm taking the "chill pills"and is also one of those types who believe mental illness just in your head). I will check out the United Way for suggestions - hadn't thought about them. One of the drawbacks to the clinics I've learned is they don't believe in or won't prescribe clonazapam. If they do, it's only for a temporary basis - I've been taking it for over ten years now.

It sucks that the low - middle middle income people have to suffer so much without getting assistance. We're busting our butts off trying to survive, make too much for low income help, but not enough to get by on our own.

Thanks for the idea!

What about Affordable Care (ObamaCare, if you are in the US)

There are also programs to help the uninsured pay for meds. I'm not sure if it is one, but I know places like Wal-Mart have cheap refills on some meds.

I hate doctors, lawyers, and the medical profession, LOL! Yeah, I have seen ads for low priced meds, but you need to see someone to get the scripts first. And I love the warning labels on the depression/anxiety meds - "may cause depression or suicidal thoughts." Why would I want to take those meds if they MIGHT cause what I'm suffering from?!?!? Sorry, just ranting - it's hot/humid outside and my a/c is on the blink.

Maybe once my a/c gets fixed, I can comfortably sit down, concentrate, and check things out. Seems like if it's not one thing, it's another....

I hear you about not wanting to take the meds that might make worse what you already suffer from! I keep telling my doctor I refuse to take any medication which has a side effect of death (some asthma medicines!)

If your employer offering a subsidy? It could be good that you have to go to the exchanges; their insurance is the "same" as what you have and if you qualify for a Federal subsidy might be as painless as what you are paying for your company plan. I had a State plan that got discontinued the end of last year and I had no subsidies under it or the comparable new Exchange plan but the new plan was $40-$50 cheaper each month.

Your employer is dropping health coverage. Yay?

Regarding clonazepam, one thing you can do is to visit the provider who writes your prescription for it right before your insurance coverage runs out, then you'll at least have a prescription for however many refills he/she usually gives you.

I also take clonazepam (a medium-high dose, been taking it for 10+ years too.) I was able to pay cash for my prescription and get it for $17, $22, & $35 (3 different pharmacies) (The prices of clonazepam seem to have gone up since January.)

GoodRx is a fairly good site for comparing drug prices at different large chain pharmacies. You can vary dosage strength and number of tablets and see how the prices change. Sometimes it's cheaper to get a higher strength pill and cut in in half - sometimes it's not.

The site offers its own "coupons" that you can print out to get a super, duper price but I tried that once at Walgreens and the prices that Walgreens came up when they ran the Rx with the GoodRx coupon was higher than Walgreens' cash price. So I just ignore that coupon price.

I started going to a mental health "clinic" after I lost my insurance, but it's not a city or county clinic. It's part of a chain and it contracts with the state to provide mental health care. The co-pay is sliding scale and is low. Even if you got health insurance through "Obamacare", you could still go to this type of facility.

Okay, so your employer is an $ss. Not that unusual. There are tons of people out there who can help you find a health care plan that you can afford. I have a friend who is lowish-income and she has a plan that she likes that has premiums of $50 per month.

If you want to check at healthcare.gov to be sure that your income is one that is eligible for subsidized health insurance, you can look at "Income levels that qualify for lower health coverage costs.

If you have what's considered a "high" income or one that's below the poverty level (or maybe 133% of it, I can't remember) you won't be eligible for a subsidy, but otherwise you will be.

I looked all this stuff up last year, so I remember most of it.

Good luck with all this. I have heard more than one person say that they now have better coverage for less money, so it's not necessarily all bad news.

Unfortunately I can't waive a magic wand and get insurance. What I do have to do is not let my previously diagnosed depression make me lazy and FORCE myself to check stuff out from this site and NAMI. If I don't do something soon, I'll be in worse shape; but I need to get my act together at least for this situation. Low prescription costs doesn't seem to be the problem; the problem is being able to see doctors or a shrink (I'm still experimenting with anti-depressants).

Thanks for more specific advice and I'll still welcome more ideas!

I was on Librium (like Clonazapam, a benzo) for years, and doctors who knew me would give me a script to get 100 capsules at a time, with refills to boot. Benzos are not all that dangerous for depressed people. I've read that it's actually hard to commit suicide with a benzo. (Not dangerous the way opiates are.) You might try leaning on the doctor you have or the next one you go to for a good supply, at least 90 days worth with refills. Emphasize that you've been using this med consistently for a long time. A regular general practitioner might even work with you better than a pdoc. That was my experience anyway. I used to go for a psych consult once in a blue moon, then get my psych meds subsequently ordered by a GP.

Doctors are really hosing us when they dribble out the prescriptions in small quantities at a time. Tell the docs your situation. I've found that helps. In a way, it's easier to prescribe larger quantities for someone without insurance, since it is the insurance companies that put many of the restrictions on how many pills you can get at a time.

Being open handed with prescriptions is easier for the MD, if you present as reasonably stable and non-suicidal. Sometimes, I've found it expedient to downplay my mental distress when saying I feel real bad is just going to get my doctor alarmed and less willing to prescribe controlled drugs for me.

Having had everything but the kitchen sink thrown at my depression, I've come to the conclusion that the newest, most expensive drugs don't deserve half the hype they get. Seroquel and Lamictal, which are real expensive were much less helpful to me than amitriptyline and Librium, which are cheap as dirt.

Where you fill your scripts means a lot dollarwise. I've learned that Walmart's, Sam's Club and Costco are where to go, unless you want to get into mail ordering. I used to use Walgreen's and I don't anymore. The pharmacists there are ready to take time to talk with you about any concerns, and the stores are cute, but you pay through the nose even for generic drugs. I got an upgraded membership at Sam's club that gave me a discount on prescriptions that was well worth the expense of the upgrade.

Fight that inertia that comes with the blues and makes it so hard to optimize getting the most out of your opportunities. I know it's hard . . . real hard.

Without doing a thorough search yet, finding a script plan doesn't look that difficult. And fortunately my MD does prescribe Clonazpam for three months. For depression I'm still in the experimental phases of finding something suitable without adverse side effects. Another problem is getting time off work for appointments.

But now the tough part is finding and getting the ambition to find a health insurance plan. Living paycheck to paycheck, that won't be easy; plus there's the worry once I do find a plan, I may have to start all over with a new doctor - great process for someone with depression who has no emotional support, LOL. Basically I need to FORCE myself to figure out what my finances are and hopefully find a plan I can afford. That's why I wrote here to see what others have done and what options there are.