PHARMACIST STEVE

I am disabled. 66yrs old and all alone. I live in FL.
I have been on two controlled pain medications for 23 years. I have cancer and several other debilitating injuries and illnesses. In chronic pain!

I just recvd a letter from Walgreens
(See below) and I have only 6 days of medicine left before I am totally out!

I will not only be in severe pain but I will end up in the hospital! You can’t just go off this medicine. I have been going to the same Dr for 15+ yrs and the same Walgreens’s and the same pharmacist for 15 yrs. as well!

BUT I JUST GOT THIS LETTER FROM WALGREENS.
What does this mean?

I have another one of these letters from Walgreen addressed to a pt in Washington State from July 2023. The only thing different is the name of the doctor that they are no longer filling control meds for.

I did a blog post a few months ago, where there are several hyperlinks, explaining how 41 State AGs got the three largest drug wholesalers and the three largest chain pharmacies agreed to sell and fill fewer controlled meds.  https://www.pharmaciststeve.com/dea-proposed-reduction-in-pharma-controlled-med-production-quotas/ 

From the text in the letter, it would appear that Walgreens is using some statistical analysis to determine what prescribers in a specific area are the outliers in writing the number of controlled meds and/or the most MMEs.

I would find the phrases in the letter quite humorous if it wasn’t that Walgreens was tossing pts taking controlled meds and who are highly likely to be disabled pt. So they are sorry for the inconvenience of probably throwing these pts into cold turkey withdrawal and possibly throwing them into a torturous level of pain.  Below is the text from CMS website on discrimination of pts on Medicare or Medicaid. Is Walgreens directly or indirectly discriminating against this – and other pts – because they know how difficult to impossible it is for pts to find a new prescriber and/or new pharmacy to fill those C-II Rxs?  It is clear in the Walgreens letter that Walgreens only questions this particular prescriber’s competency to appropriately prescribe controlled meds.

Nondiscrimination Notice
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) doesn’t exclude, deny benefits to, or otherwise
discriminate against any person on the basis of race, color, national origin, disability, sex (including
sexual orientation and gender identity), or age in admission to, participation in, or receipt of the services
and benefits under any of its programs and activities, whether carried out by CMS directly or through a
contractor or any other entity with which CMS arranges to carry out its programs and activities.
You can contact CMS in any of the ways included in this notice if you have any concerns about
getting information in a format that you can use.
You may also file a complaint if you think you’ve been subjected to discrimination in a CMS program
or activity, including experiencing issues with getting information in an accessible format from
any Medicare Advantage Plan, Medicare drug plan, state or local Medicaid office, or Marketplace
Qualified Health Plans. There are three ways to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights:
1. Online: hhs.gov/civil-rights/filing-a-complaint/complaint-process/index.html
2. By phone: Call 1-800-368-1019. TTY users can call 1-800-537-7697.
3. In writing: Send information about your complaint to:
Office for Civil Rights
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
200 Independence Avenue, SW
Room 509F, HHH Building
Washington, D.C. 20201

Filed under: General Problems