When Pigs Fly

Yesterday was a day when several things happened that perhaps shouldn't have. First, it was 52 degrees in January in NH. Second, Hillary Clinton beat Barack Obama in the primary, in spite of media hype to the contrary. Finally, I took on the local pharmacy on the subject of my mother's drug bill and WON! I should be a candidate, as I can now say I've taken on the pharmaceutical industry successfully.

In fact, they made a big blunder which happened to be in my favor. And, Langdon Place played its usual role in doing the wrong thing. Here's the scenario: The bill for $153.00 arrives at my house. I scrutinize it and realize that there are 4 charges for $7.19 each in the space of less than a month and 2 charges for $13.98. That struck me as odd, and I called Care Pharmacy. The billing person wasn't there, but would call me back. (HA - fat chance of that).

So...I presented myself at the pharm in mid-afternoon and politely inquired about what the meds. were and why they had been delivered twice in 30 days. It turned out to be aspirin ($7.19 for a 30 day supply!?), colace and potassium - all over the counter stuff, I think. The nice woman at register #1 looked it up and said that in fact, LP nurses had mistakenly ordered the second round and had subsequently returned the items and my account had been credited. I asked if she could give me the accurate total so I could pay the bill correctly. She said I would have to speak to Michelle at register #2. Off i went.

Michelle called up the account and said that the only amount I owed was $28.00 for Depends (2 packs of 20) which had been delivered Jan. 4. I said what happened to the rest of the $153.00 bill, minus the approximately $27.00 credit? She said it had been paid. No, I said, it hasn't, and showed her the bill in my hand. Oh, said she. Well, it shows here that your account has been credited for $153.00 Then she looked at me and said. Why don't we just go with what's in our record? I said. O.K. - if you say so, and happy new year to me and my mom. Free drugs for December, 2007 - better even than the Medicare Prescription D plan.