Anonymous

Worst company , totally incompetent

It would take a long essay to detail my experience with OPTUM but the short version is: I was away from home for 4 months, thinking that getting my med by mail would be the best option. I swear I called them at least 30 times getting answers like: we need special order from doctor(did it), it will be mailed overnight (did not come for over a month), we need verification from insurance ( insurance already sent it), it Wes sent yesterday ( blatant lie), there was a mix up, will be sent today rush (more lies), I could go on and on but the final blow was "we need a photo ID"... This was for a simple HRT prescription! NEVER deal with this company!!!
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1 comment
Guest

Optum RX motto is hire the mentally handicapped. It is fun to watch them attempt to work.

Their customer service is the worst. Anyone that uses their services is prone to a heart attack as it is easier to climb Mount Everest than order a simple prescription from Optum Rx.

Anonymous

OptumRx: incompetent and inept people can truly find a home here

OptumRx is by far the worst mail order drug company I have ever come across. The fact that they have a department called "Customer Service" is a joke. I have dealt with these people for almost a year (at least 30 phone calls) and I can honestly say that not one of those contacts had a satisfactory result. Every time (except once) I asked to speak to a supervisor I was told to stay on hold and they would transfer me. That's right; I always wound up with a dial tone in my ear after a minute or so. I could go on and on but what is the use? In my opinion they are too dumb to realize how bad they really are!
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Anonymous
map-marker Chicago, Illinois

Deny meds; they substitute with meds you are allergic too

they define care rather than your doctor. doctor prescribes one medication but they won't cover it. They substitute, without telling you, another medication ignoring allergies. So now stuck with 3 month supply of worthless medication and have to pay full price for original med. Even when bring list of meds covered to doctor, mid year they change policy and a drug you were on is no longer covered so doctor has to find something new. they do not tell you what "supply limits" are on meds and don't let you know if a prescription called in exceeds the limit. they do not tell the doctor either. The script just sits there until you call to follow up on Have contacted their support network on multiple occasions. They lose medications hence have to pay extra for "3-day" or "overnight" which they still can't deliver on so have to call to get refund. Maybe you'll get your meds or maybe you won't. Get different answers regarding prescriptions every time call - each rep assures he/she "telling the truth". Worst mail order company EVER
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Loss:
$2500
Anonymous
map-marker Plano, Texas

My feedback with using them

The issue that I am writing about today stemmed from how my case management was handled last week. On 5/15/13 I placed my refill order through the OptumRx mail order phone line. Everything seemed fine and I was informed that my prescription would be delivered to my home on Friday. However, come Saturday, my prescription still had not shown up. I was very concerned as my supply at home would run out after Saturday, so I called customer support to try and get this figured out. The situations during and following that and subsequent calls were completely inappropriate, non-professional, and left me overwhelmingly loathing your company and associates.

The first person that I spoke to tried to find out the details about my package. She contacted UPS after trying to track the package online which simply stated that it was out for delivery with Friday’s date (5/17/13). After contacting UPS, she told me that there was something wrong but UPS could not identify the problem. She did not have a solution for me and told me that she was bringing the case to the resolution team and would get back to me. This was understandable as this problem stemmed from UPS. However, I asked if there was a timeframe for which I will be contacted to which I was told that it would be “sometime today”.

After waiting three hours, I called back with an even greater sense of urgency since it was now afternoon on Saturday and I needed my medication. After being placed on hold several times, I was told that the specialty pharmacy would be processing my order on Monday and that I would get it delivered on Tuesday. This was completely unacceptable as I must take my medication every day else there is a very high chance of my body becoming resistant the therapy. I told this to the gentleman and he had no point of action to take besides telling me that I would get my medication on Tuesday. Eventually, it was discussed that perhaps I should call my insurance company, United Healthcare.

When I called United Healthcare and went through the automated system prompts, I was actually transferred back to OptumRx (to later realize that they own OptumRx). I again told the associate my current situation, everything that had happened thus far, and my urgent need to get this resolved. After arguing that excuses such as the specialty pharmacy will not be in until Monday and others was simply not an answer that I was willing to take, I was transferred to someone from the resolution team. Once again, trying to get any help or resolution to this matter was like pulling teeth. Finally, I was given a number to call with another department of OptumRx and was told that this was an emergency situation to get a five-day supply.

After calling that number, the gentlemen told me that I would need to go to my pharmacy and have the pharmacist first call a number (that he gave me) to have the prescription transferred. Then, have the pharmacist call another number (that he also supplied me with) to have an override approved. This sounded like a plausible solution; however, I needed to know what pharmacy I could go to. I tried expressing that to the associate and he kept telling me that the pharmacy will not have the prescription until they call the first number he gave me. The point I was trying to get across to him though, was that my medication is a specialty medication and would not necessarily be stocked at any pharmacy that I showed up at (I have no regular pharmacy as I use OptumRx). He had no advice, and I am pretty sure he did not understand my concern since he kept repeating the same thing to me.

I ended up calling the closest pharmacy to me and they, like I predicted, did not have the medicine available. Luckily, he did contact the Walgreens across the street from him and told me that they have it and would be able to help me. By this time, it was about 5pm, but thankfully Walgreens pharmacy was open until 6 that day. I contacted the pharmacist there and gave her my information and situation. She then said that she would call me back after she called the numbers that I gave her. She called me back a few minutes later to inform me that she could not get in contact with anyone to have the prescription transferred. I then called back to OptumRx to see what was going on and I was told that the specialty pharmacy is closed on the weekends and there were no pharmacists available to transfer my medication! This coming from the very company that (1) advertises pharmacists available 24/7 on the company website and (2) had just given me those very instructions to follow 10-15 minutes earlier.

I left my house to go to Walgreens since I had less than an hour to get this resolved. On the way, I was able to have OptumRx get a pharmacist available to transfer the medication. The Walgreens pharmacist called me back with some good news and bad news though. The good news was that she now had the prescription; the bad news was that OptumRx would not give the override needed for my insurance and that I would have to pay out of pocket. At this point it was nearly six and I had had enough with being passed around from incompetent associate to incompetent associate at OptumRx and bought the medication at my expense for an emergency five-day supply. So, six hours after my initial call, plus about additional 5-6 subsequent calls, totaling about 4 hours on the phone—I had my medication to carry me over until Tuesday.

Unfortunately, it does not only end there. On Monday morning (5/20/13) I received a call regarding my replacement order that was to be sent out for Tuesday delivery. During that conversation I was asked if a signature was needed to which I said “no” because no one would be home. Then, on Tuesday morning (5/21/13) I had an email from OptumRx stating that my shipment had been shipped and should arrive that morning, but a signature would be required. I once again called OptumRx since I was explicitly asked about that and said no, knowing that no one would be at my apartment to sign for the package. The representative that I spoke to said I would need to call UPS and have them change it so that no signature was required. So, I called UPS and spoke to the representative there who informed me that the package was created with that requirement and they were contractually obligated to follow those instructions.

I then called OptumRx back to inform them that there was nothing that I could do on my end. During the beginning of that call, the woman first told me that there was no signature required according to her records. Obviously this was wrong and I told her I had just contacted UPS regarding it and there was indeed a signature required. She then tried calling UPS to have it changed only to then inform me afterwards that it was company policy to require a signature on the replacement shipment since the cost of the medication was so expensive. Yet, not once during my 7+ conversations with all the other associates/departments did anyone ever mention this. Even further, if that was the case, (1) why was I asked about needing a signature if it would be required in the first place, (2) why did the associate’s records indicate that no signature was required? Then, to try and rectify the situation I was informed that I could go to the UPS warehouse to pick up the package myself! In my mind, that kind of defeats the purpose of a mail-order pharmacy. In any case, this was not an option as I worked during the day and had class in the evening, so I would not even get back to my area until after 8pm (UPS said they would be closed by 7pm). Finally, the associate able to get an address change on the package to be sent to my work—delivery would be on Wednesday (5/22/13).

On Wednesday my package did arrive at work and hopefully the ordeal of this situation is over for the most part. I still now need to send in my reimbursement claim form to my insurance company, which if history is any gauge about how things will be handled, I will probably be making 5+ phone calls back to OptumRx after it is denied several times (I am just guessing—have no proof yet this will happen). But more importantly, what kind of training, protocols, professionalism, and sense of urgency do you have in place? In my experience, you either do not have anything in place or your company is staffed with incompetent and negligent employees. Given that my therapy with this medication is a matter of life and death for me, saying that I am grossly disappointed and upset does not even begin to explain how I feel about OptumRx. The fact that I had to call many times to get no answer is beyond frustrating. Even more frustrating are the inconsistent lies that I am fed through the associates. And whatever happened to the original call back I was suppose to get on Saturday? Not only have I wasted my cell phone minutes on your company (can I invoice you for that?), I also missed my high school friend visiting from New York on Saturday because I was on hold or trying to get to the pharmacy on Saturday.

Even in writing this, I am not convinced that anyone there will be reading it. And if it is read, will anything change? Doing minimal research online and reading the horror stories other customers have had with dealing with your organization, I will not hold my breath. So, when I called today—because my replacement medication had an invoice even though I was already charged the day of my original order—I finally agreed to take your little survey. The associate who I spoke was very kind and was able to inform me that I had no balance on my account (I will be waiting to hear if that changes). However, to respond to the questions regarding how I feel about OptumRx and whether I would suggest them to my friends and family? Pressing 5, “not at all”, just did not feel like it could really capture how much resentment I now have for your (dis)organization. I will also be sending a copy of this letter to my HR department to let them know that when negotiating health care contracts for next year, we should do everything in our power to not use United Healthcare/OptumRx. How your company can claim to be an “innovative leader”, have a “state-of-the-art mail service”, and have an “award-winning” pharmacy is beyond my comprehension as well as several others writing feedback about OptumRx’s service. I will certainly make it a point for myself and the well-being of others to never say anything positive about this company. I will let anyone who will listen know how I was treated, lied to through inconsistencies, and the apparent lack of trust you have generated between your associates and very unsatisfied customers.

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Reason of review:
Poor customer service
8 comments
Guest

Actually, most of this is your own fault.

OptumRX sends out both mailed letters, text messages AND more to alert customers when they can refill their medications.

Usually you are allowed to refill when your 3 month supply runs down to about 70% medications left in your medicine chest at your home.

Sounds like someone forgot, tossed the letter, maybe didn't mark your calendar or what ever.

You CAN also go online at home or your local wifi hot spot and get your refills there and specify all the little details you wish for, like no signature on a delivery and even an alternate ship to address if your at work or on vacation.

My advice is next time, pay more attention to your notices especially if your taking very important medications. And, yes...anytime your getting your meds from any pharmacy OptumRx or any other pharmacy and you need to get an emergency supply from another pharmacy you still have to get the first pharmacy to release your prescription FIRST.

It has to do with the law, this keeps people from filling their prescriptions at multiple places and getting too many possibly controlled drugs easily. I am a new CSR at OptiumRx, I will agree with you on how bad some of the CSA's handle customers, there is too much to learn and only so few weeks to learn everything before we are sent to handle live customer accounts, many of us are barely trained, but most of us do try very hard.

It's really best if you keep track of your reminders such as letters, mark your calendar and count your pills. Visit the web site and handle your own orders and shipments.

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-1023697

You anonymous are an ***! The thing that you're missing is your company through it's representatives lied to this person as they have lied to me many times.

They have overcharge me for medications lied to me about when they were being delivered. I would not give me a refund for the amount they overcharged me. Not only that you shouldn't be commenting being that you're working for optimrx on this poor man's experience. You working for the company and telling him that it's his own fault makes your company look even worse and that is exactly what this man is talking about and exactly the experience I had as well.

I won't be using your *** company because of people like you. My suggestion for you is to make a career change and go work at a gas station selling lotto tickets or something

Guest

OptumRX SUCK

Guest

Each time I have taken the survey after calling OptumRX, I am asked by the automatic voice to say if my experience is rated 1 to 5, with the 1 being excellent service and a 5 being very poor service. Each time I have said any number other than 1, the automatic voice says it did not understand and repeats the insturctions.

No matter what number I say, other than 1, the voice says it did not understand. I am always given 3 tries and then the system says they did not understand and hangs up.

So, it is not possible to leave a score higher than the ?1 rating of "excellent service" with the OptumRX survey!!

Guest

Same problem with Optum RX....always calling them back to get my RX refilled and claim no fax back, then when they decide to call and let me know (3 weeks later) they want me to go to my doctor to get new RX.....then another few weeks before the refill arrives....OPTUM RX is a terrible company! Stay away

Guest

Every interaction I have had with OptumRx has been similar to this. Every three months I go through this same type of situation.

When I run out of refills I have to call my doctor and have him FAX "new" prescriptions. Medco used to contact my doctor's when I refilled and had no refills left. Then I have to spend several days calling OptumRx who always says they haven't received the fax from my doctor...doctor says they sent it etc. Once Optumrx finally admits they have received the "new" prescriptions it takes approximately 10 days for them to process it internally.

Then add shipping time to that before I receive it. These are not "new" prescriptions but OptumRx will not recognize that. They say it is to help prevent errors. So now I have to leave myself a reminder in 10 days to call them again and ask if my medicine has shipped.

It never has shipped. It's always something. One time my credit card on file had expired. No one from OptumRx called to advise me of this.

They were just waiting for me to realize my meds hadn't showed up and call them to find out why. Word of advice...daily or 2x daily followup is required for any interaction you have with this company. Do not leave anything to chance. This is not just a story about one interaction.

This happens every time. EVERY TIME. They are the worst company I have ever dealt with in any field. All these people would not be taking the time to write all these looooong accounts of what happened to them if there was not some serious issue here.

OptumRx is pathetic and the only reason they are in business is because people HAVE to use them if that's what their company offers. We have no choice! If I had a choice to go with any other pharmacy I would pay more and be willing to drive to pick up.

I hate OptumRx.

Guest

I have read your story and understand completely! I have had those exact same problems and more. I filed a complaint with the BBB and will be writing to the Department of Consumer Affairs Board of Pharmacies in CA.

Guest

First, I am so sorry that you had this experience. I say that as a former OptumRx employee who knows first hand how frustrated customers are with the "service" they are receiving. Sadly I am not surprised that you went through all of this. I worked directly with orders that had problems and cannot tell you how many times customers have told me that one person said this and another had a different story and to top it off no one had given the right information.

I believe this comes from a lack of training, lack of accountability, and also from pressures within the company for performance. There are good people who work there and really want to help customers, there are also those who just want to collect a paycheck and are so concerned with their performance that I believe they will say whatever they have to in order to be done with the call. This is not how it should be.

I believe you are correct though when you say that there are incompetent people who work there. I ran into many situations where I just could not believe what customer's were told. There is a lack of trust between associates because unfortunately there are some that just do not do their job correctly so those of us who had to fix the mistakes end up having to review everything which of course takes more time.

There are employees who have voiced their concerns but nothing seems to change. I do not believe OptumRx is a bad company, but I do believe that staff need to be better trained, especially the customer service advocates, on correct policies and procedures. There is a lot of misinformation given out by the CSA's.

So, in closing someone formerly from OptumRx did read your letter but unfortunately even if I still worked there I could do nothing since I was low on the totem pole. My thoughts and opinions did not count for much. I hope any further experiences you have will be better for you.

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Anonymous
map-marker Brooklyn, New York

Standard Operating Proceedure: Extortion

This is what OptumRx does time and again. You either submit new prescriptions or file for refills, you don't receive them, you inquire why and they tell you you owe them some past due from out of the blue and if you want your medication you have to pay up. You're account online reflects no balance due, with every transaction you have authorized payment, no bill or statement has ever been submitted to you, but now if you want your meds you have to grease the machine. This has just happened to me again last night. A past due balance, I'm told, from March of 2013. This situation is insane. Doesn't a business have some obligation to make an effort to collect arrears if they want to claim you are delinquent in making payment for services rendered? And how does that work if the services they say have been rendered could have only been rendered after payment has been authorized? People, it's a shell game. I suggest you not only write to your benefits administrator but to the chamber of commerce and your elected representatives both local and national. These people need to be exposed and you have every right to demand respectful service.
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Shayden Rfa
map-marker Canton, Georgia

Denied medication

OptumRx would not approve coverage for the medication that I was trying to refill without prior doctor authorization. After receiving authorization from my doctor, they determined it was not adequate.

I would have to first have an adverse reaction to a different medication they suggested I try. Why bother going to see a doctor when someone from OptumRx is going to decide which medication you take? How can they override your doctor's treatment plan? To make it worse, the medication OptumRx suggested I use was over $200 even after coverage was applied.

I can't afford that.

Luckily, my doctor was able to help me get the same medication I've been taking by giving me a coupon from the manufacturer of the medicine. I guess this is a good way for OptumRx to make their money, but it sure is a rotten thing to do to people who need medication.

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3 comments
Guest

Looks like the traditional BULL as these "people" sit around and play checkers as they sip their drinks!!!

Guest

You do understand that the insurance company is the one who decides whether a medication needs a prior authorization or not. I work for a doctors office and have nothing but good experiences with OptumRx. Optumrx is no different from walgreens.

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-834554

Wrong. OptumRx is the very outfit who is asking for the PA’s, then denying them over and over again, in their effort to discourage paying for brand drugs. You’ll see, and you will swallow your words!

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Anonymous
map-marker Langhorne, Pennsylvania

Wait for meds

Got an e-mail 6/23 that they got my order for a refill . I'll get my meds in 7-10 days. Called on 7/3 have not got my meds. They told me to go to my dr and get samples!!! Told them tomorrow is July 4 & my dr is not there on weekends .oh was the answer.then they sent my meds u.p.s. Not us mail? Still did not get them until 7/8 15 days. They cashed my ck. on 6/24!! I will use the local cvs from now on 12 dollars more every 90 days is better than dealing with these nit-wits. No wonder I take blood pressure pills. We had Caremark before never a problem. Some body got something out of this!!!
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Malikai Fto

No meds after almost 2 weeks

cannot tell you strongly enough how inept this company is. Had prescription solutions for years and now this company. Am 70 year old hear patient who had a heart attack two years ago. Had a stress test and saw my cardiologist who prescribed three meds sent to optum rx. STILL WAITING!!!!!!! called yesterday the 17th of June> oh by the way saw my doc on June 5th. Told me had to wait at least 4 more days for it to be looked at. Needless to say I lost it on the phone with whoever was that I was speaking to and, of course, I asked for a supervisor. To no avail, I was told person would call back and, yes, no call back. Called United Healthcare who said they would call while I was on hold and then when the girl I was speaking to got back on phone some 10 minutes later proceeded to tell me the same thing the other from Optum got finished telling me a half hour before. Thought I was going back to hospital with another attack. After I screamed for a manager from United, who I didn't have the privilege of speaking to, I was told now there was a co-pay issue of which this company has my card on file. But I guess no one smart enough to look at file to find that out. Well I am supposed to receive my meds within 48 hours but I will let you all know if that really happens. Until then, for God sake, don't use this company!!!
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Anonymous
map-marker Livonia, Michigan

Buyer Beware

Re -ordered doxycycline on a new script from optum noticed doctor said tab instead of capsule. Called optum person checked with pharmacy no problem same pill. When I recieved I was billed 115.00 dollars my last one was 48.00 I went to my site and found the total cost was (mine and optums) 984.87. This was deducted from my Medicare plan Which is a third of the budget before you go into the donut hole. I called the Medicare/AARP who in turn called a optum person well between the two they decided it was the way the doctor wrote the script and it came from another manufacturer. I told them I wanted to return they said there is no to return the product I have to keep it. Well today I was looking in the optum site for some info and foud a statement that YOU CAN return script I called today and they're sending a return PKG to me.It's sad that you have to call a few times to get the story straight. I wonder how many senior's are getting ripped for a high price pill they don't need and wind up paying big bucks long before the end of the year.
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Loss:
$945
Anyiah Pbe
map-marker Saint Paul, Minnesota

Medicine Held hostage-customer service uses power to make sick people suffer

I use specialty medicines that are extremely expensive and suffer if I miss any. The customer service reps say they have charged my card and then I get all sorts of emails saying that my medicine has been delayed and I should contact my doctor for free samples. The emails do not say why it has been delayed, they only say that I can expect to receive it in 7 to 19 days when it is really being held hostage till you already paid is paid!! You cannot view your account balance online, you cannot pay your balance online. So you call again and tell them to charge your account. Do they do it? Nope! You never find out until a week later when the phone calls start. Do they leave a message? Nope, just you need to call us. It usually takes about three phone calls and don't be honest with them! If you tell them what you think of the company they make excuses why they can't help you. One operator even asked my what I expected her to do about it. We are held hostage with this by our insurance companies. Their motto-if we let them die we won't have to deal with the anymore.
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Loss:
$10000
Anonymous
map-marker Mansfield, Massachusetts

Ordered my medication

For the past year I have ordered medication form OptumRx and every time I have had to make a call back (several times it was more than once )to make sure they were sending my medication.I asked why they took so long and why I never got a phone call back all I got from their "advocates" was that they were sorry. This is health care to its worse I am changing to my local pharmacy at least I can get them on time. I will not use them any more there are better solutions In the past using mail order companies I know it happens not with OptumRX very upset customer
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Harjot Cgj
map-marker Columbia, Maryland

Wrong Medicine sent cause me to have side affects

My doctor authorized a refill of a medication that I was currently taking by them and decided to send me a totally different generic brand. I called them and asked why I got that medicine they blamed it on my doctor. I took the medicine because I didn't have anymore left. I agreed to refill the medication. Two weeks left in the current prescription I develop side affects such as numbness ,tingling on the left side and pain in the left leg. I went and saw my doctor she said stop the medication immediately. I called optiumrx and told them what happened and asked could I return the package that came in the mail that was never open. All the supervisor kept saying is that you agreed to pay for it. I stated I did before I started having these side affects. I asked him you want me to pay for a medication that I will have to throw in the trash because I can't use them. He suggest I pay the $25.00 or it will go to collections. They already got paid from the insurance company already. They don't want to take blame that they sent me the wrong medicine in the first place. If would never advise people to use this company again.
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Loss:
$25
Anonymous
map-marker Palm Beach Gardens, Florida

With held important meds due to their error

My meds were with held stating that I owed $25 from over a year ago. I wanted to know why am I just being told about this after speaking to 13 reps prior to today. I was disrespected and lied to those of us taking specialty medicine are going through enough with our issues to deal with this mess. I spoke to a resolution team member which said "I will waive it" and come to find out only a supervisor can. This place is horrible and didn't care that I need this drug to live. It was their error not mine and the customer shouldn't have to suffer because their team isn't on the same page.
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Anonymous

Important medication withheld following sudden claim for $10 supposedly owed a year and a half ago.

Despite never sending medication without having made prior payment arrangements, despite having sent medication monthly without issue this entire time, despite having sent recent bills showing a $0 balance, my attempt on 5/19 to order my monthly arthritis medication was refused because OptumRX suddenly alleged I owed them $10 from January. It was only during a subsequent call that the CSR that day mentioned they were talking about January 2013, not 2014. Moreover, they were unable to tell me what the claim related to since their records only went back to June 2013. After two unfulfilled promises to have a supervisor call me back, a useless conversation with a "resolution expert" ( hahaha) and over an hour on hold over three phone calls, I paid the $10 under protest to get my medication. Clearly, it's the principle here, and not the money. Looking at the complaints of other victims makes me even angrier. This is a / UHC subsidiary gone wild. I want a refund of $1,000. That's the unsubstantiated $10 claim, plus my hourly attorney's rate of $395/hour, plus the balance as punitive damages.
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Loss:
$1000
Anonymous

Held Hostage for $7.00 not even owed!

When I tried to order my Mom's pills, I was told there was an unpaid balance of $7.00. This was not true, as I had received a bill with no balance due. I faxed a copy of the bill showing no balance, but that did not matter. The supervisor said we had to pay the $7.00 or I would not be able to order Mom's pills. What would you do? Of course, I paid, even though I knew I did NOT owe that money. After reading many of the complaints at this site, it looks like this tactic is OptumRx's practice. To me this is outright fraud! I have filed a complaint with the OptumRx Appeals and Grievance section and also sent a copy of the letter to AARP. Hopefully AARP will get the message and change to another provider.
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Loss:
$7
1 comment
Guest

So... At what point did the manager jump over the counter and tell you that you could not leave the store?

Did you call the police?

Next time, don't use words that you don't know the meaning of....

And if you don't know the meaning of the word, "kidnapping," you need to go back to grade school! Stop exaggerating you ***!

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