George Henry, Freelance WriterSpaldings, Clarendon:
SEVERAL SUBSCRIBERS to Blue Cross of Jamaica are complaining that they are unable to fill prescriptions at some pharmacies, as pharmacists have refused to take their paper cards, although they do not expire until January, 2003.
According to them, when the cards are presented at a few pharmacies, they are being told that the cards are no longer valid, as only plastic swipe-cards are being accepted.
Annette Henry, a Blue Cross subscriber told The Gleaner that she took a prescription for her daughter to Mid-Island Pharmacy in Spaldings, Clarendon last Saturday to be filled. However, when the card was presented, she was told they were no longer being accepted, as the plastic swipe-cards have replaced them.
She noted that she had one of the plastic cards and so she was told to take it in, then the prescription would be filled. However, when the plastic card was taken to the pharmacist, it was discovered that it had expired from January and had not been replaced.
Mrs. Henry pointed out that although the plastic swipe-card had expired, the paper card showed an expiration date for January 2003 and so she was surprised that the pharmacist was still refusing to take it to fill the prescription.
She stated that she called the Christiana Pharmacy, which is about three miles from Spaldings, to find out if that establishment was honouring paper cards. However she stated that she was disappointed when she was informed, that the pharmacy was also not accepting Blue Cross paper cards and was only accepting plastic swipe-cards to fill prescriptions.
Other subscribers to Blue Cross have complained to The Gleaner that they have been affected similarly when both the Mid-Island and Christiana Pharmacies were visited for the filling of prescriptions.
One woman, who opted for anonymity, told The Gleaner that she had a similar experience recently. She pointed out that despite having more than eleven thousand dollars on her card, she had to fork out over five thousand dollars to pay for prescription drugs, because the Christiana Pharmacy refused to take her paper card.
She like others have raised the question: What if they do not have any cash to fill the prescription out of their pockets?
Checks with a few pharmacies in the parishes of Manchester and St. Elizabeth revealed that, while the Christiana Pharmacy and Mid-Island Pharmacy were refusing to take the paper cards, others were still accepting them.
At the Haughton's Pharmacy in Mandeville, the pharmacist told The Gleaner that, although it was not a good idea to accept the paper cards, they were still being accepted.
The pharmacist noted that it was not very wise to have both paper and plastic cards in the hands of subscribers for security reasons.
"When the plastic swipe-card is used, the deduction is made immediately but with the paper card, subscribers could go to another pharmacy and get their prescription filled even if the card has no money and then that pharmacy loses, as that claim would not be honoured by Blue Cross."
The Fontana Pharmacy also reported that they too have been filling prescriptions for Blue Cross subscribers who turn up with paper cards that have valid dates, as some persons plastic swipe-cards have expired.
Similar responses also came from pharmacists at Phillips, Maxi Med, and St. Paul's Pharmacies in St. Elizabeth. Pharmacists at those pharmacies told The Gleaner that they have not received any information from Blue Cross of Jamaica to stop taking paper cards from subscribers.
When the Mid Island Pharmacy was contacted for comments on the issue, pharmacist Ricardo Dabee stated that they are phasing out the use of the paper cards at that pharmacy.
"There are pharmacies who still have the facility to use paper cards alone, but we are actually now phasing that out and that was a decision taken at the management level," said Mr. Dabee.
Mr. Dabee pointed out that Mid-Island Pharmacy is reluctant in filling prescriptions for persons who have both the paper card and the plastic swipe-card, because when their paper card claims are sent in to Blue Cross, the Health Insurance provider refuses to honour those claims.
He stated that his pharmacy has suffered from the non-payment of claims by Blue Cross to the tune of over five hundred thousand dollars for such individuals, who have both cards and so the decision was taken to tighten up and only take cards from persons who have only one of the two.
Christiana Pharmacy's Christopher Green, one of the owners, asked about the decision to stop taking paper cards from subscribers, said it was because some persons have both cards and that created a problem.
"Because some people have both cards, sometimes they would use the swipe card alone without up-dating the paper card. So what happens over a period of time they might exhaust the funds available on the card. So when they bring the paper card it shows a balance when in truth and in fact they don't have a balance," he said.
Mr. Green said that there were currently outstanding claims running into hundreds of thousands of dollars.
When The Gleaner contacted Blue Cross Head Office in Kingston, a senior source there said no letter has been sent out to pharmacies informing them of any November 1 deadline to cease accepting paper cards.
The source noted that Blue Cross has been encouraging subscribers to use plastic swipe-cards, especially when they visit pharmacies or doctors where swipe card machines are available.
In the meantime, the source stated, the Health Insurance provider is making every effort to have plastic swipe-cards in the possession of all its subscribers, but until all have the plastic cards, the paper cards are still valid.
