Yes, the world hates poor people.

Dear god that was hateful and i enjoyed every minute of it. My favorite is the blackberry or equivalent pulled out right as they bitch about a dollar Rx.

-Future PhamD

All I can say is...yup

I love you, man.

Bravo!!

THANK YOU!!! EXACTLY WHAT I THINK!! I'm tired of seeing people drive up in their lexus/bmw/mercedes and hand me a prescription for ibuprofen with their medicaid card.

America's outstanding debt is ~$9.2 Trillion. It is estimated entitlement programs over the next 30 years will take this well past $40 Trillion.

Good game America.

PS. TAP, you kick ass.

Awesome, you hit the nail on the head once again.

HalleFuckingLujah!

I'm sure ive told you dozens of times that you're my hero.

My personal favorite is the fuckwads in the escalade that comes through the drive thru with their spinners, and 3 kids in the front seat on the lap of your high off his ass baby's daddy, to pick up all the breathing treatments for all the kids on medicaid...as you blow your newport smoke in the kids faces....

*whew...now that's off my chest, i can sleep soundly tonight*

excellent reading, i believe we finally agree on something!

Amen! Never has profanity been so eloquent and truthful.

Amen! I am always amazed how they have money to get their nails done/go to the tanning bed - but they can't "get a ride" to drop off their kids FREE antibiotic until 5 days after its written and then pick it up 5 more days after that.

I love you.

I totally agree. One thing that you forgot to add is that these moochers also get a tax refund based on free money and will get the new government refund

I couldn't agree more. It really pisses me off when people complain about how bad their lives are, how poor they are, etc. when smelling of cigarettes, alcohol, drugs.

Yes, it must be really hard doing NOTHING all day, that's why you get so annoyed at waiting for your prescriptions.

Even worse- People on welfare benefits getting Clomifene/Clomid on prescription. You are too poor to feed yourself so have a child that you cannot afford to feed too. Great logic

Mrhunnybun

I love you.

Thank you for saying what is on most people's minds. My personal favorite scenario is when someone pulls up at the drive through in a Lexus, but uses Medicaide. I just want to shoot out their tires!

So many times I've wanted to yell at those mothers in the drive-thru who scream at me with their cigarette hanging from their mouth that they "ain't payin $3.00 for that shit. I don't have a copay, look on my profile. I get antibiotics for my kids ALL the time and I have NEVER had to pay a copay!" But I only say, "yes ma'am you get Amox. for them every other week BUT obviously it isn't taking care of their earaches so the doctor prescribed something stronger that isn't as covered. This is on the insurance, it would have been more than $100.00" And then I get to stand there while they sit in their brand new Navigator, flippin their hair with their attitude and trying to dial their doctor's office on their new Razr phone with 2 inch long nails! Then of course the fun part, the dr. calls and changes it to the Amox.
I mean if I had to choose "get my nails done this week, or get my kid that kick ass antibiotic" I think I would go with the antibiotic, but then again that is why I have 1 fulltime job and 2 part time jobs, so I can give my kids everything they need and keep them in a great school system instead of some inner city crap hole.
Livable, that's all they should get from the govt. LIVABLE!!! But I believe inmates shouldn't have TV either.

Awesome. I love it. This website is my new bible.
Can I post this where my customers can read it? Oh, nevermind - my customers don't know how to read.

Your comments bring to mind a time when I happened to drop by the local county hospital.

I was meeting a friend and former classmate for a conference. While waiting for them I took a seat in the registration area.

Sitting next to me was someone who had obviously crawled out of a portable toilet. The stench was drifting the other way and he wanted to chat so I asked why he was there. He said he had cut his finger and needed a bandage. The finger he waved in my direction had what appeared to be a paper cut. No profuse bleeding, just a small cut.

I told this person the local quick shop was a block away and he could get something there to cover the problem for 50 cents. He looked at me like I was retarded and said "I have to pay money over there, here it's free." Out of curiosity I asked him if he knew he was going to run up a tab of well over $350 for this visit to the ER that I and others would have to pay for . The guy didn't miss a beat and just kept saying "It's free here."

"I'd like to see them bail my ass out if I decide to spend all my money on shit I dont need."

I realize it's not you in particular, but isn't that kind of what's happening right now with mortgages? The "nanny" government is bailing people out that bought too much house for their income levels, and everyone else gets to pay for it. Nice.

Loved the post, by the way.

��.lets look at the poor son-of-a-bitch who is busting his ass doing shit-jobs for minimum wage so he can support his family. Or the mother who gets to spend little/no time with her children because she is busing tables for 16 hours a day so she can make rent. They bust their asses and pay taxes �. What about those poor fucks who have enough personal pride to NOT rely on the state and who bust their ass so they can not only pay for themselves, but YOU as well. What do they get? Nothing�.�

This would be great, if it were true. But the fact is, the parents doing shit-jobs for minimum wage so they can support their families, and the mom working 16 hour days to bus tables is probably still receiving many welfare programs, including things like food stamps, rental assistance, daycare assistance and Medicaid.
That is part of the problem. Minimum wage is NOT a LIVING wage. When you think about it, the folk that manage to be on straight welfare without working are kind of smart. They get to stay home, make just as much money (and in some cases more) than they would if they worked, and they don�t have to bust ass at some shitty job. It takes some doing, but if you have some type of mental illness, or you have been a victim of domestic violence, (quite commomly these two things happen concurrently with poverty) it is easier to stay home and NOT work and still receive welfare either through the receipt of a disability program or a waiver of the time limit to receive cash benefits.
The very nature of America�s infrastructure perpetuates the cycle of poverty. Should you ever NEED the assistance of a welfare program, try jumping off the �income cliff� when you finally �make enough� to stop receiving assistance. It is a steep fall, and the fall either keeps families from pursuing opportunities that would increase their income, or the fall itself forces families back into assistance.

�They bust their asses and pay taxes �. �
The fact is, the parents doing shit-jobs for minimum wage so they can support their families, and the mom working 16 hour days to bus tables don�t really pay taxes (not unless you count sales tax). They get money back at tax time, and most of that money was never in their check to begin with.

Brilliant. I registered just to respond to this post, although I've been reading for a quite a while. The blue-eyed, blonde-haired, aryan, white collar male is the most discriminated person on earth.

Thank you sir, for all that you do.

The weed was espicially good this month.

-a welfare reciptient.

somebody truly hates the uninsured, 20-somethings of the lower-middle class. we're not quite poor enough for medicaid, yet make nowhere near enough money to buy insurance. we dont seek medical care unless we're fortunate enough to contract something lovely (like strep throat) that requires antibiotics. in that case, we pay a few hundred dollars to be seen at a walk-in and around $20 for an Rx. i work as a tech and cannot stomach the eye rolls/grumbles/rants about $1 copays.

You forgot to mention how they are costing more and more of your tax dollars, all because of the stupid life choices they make while they are sitting on the sofa, watching Oprah, and feeding their diabetes with bon-bons and Doritos.

Exactly what I've wanted to say, but never could express so colorfully.

I go to school full time, as well as work full time as a tech. I don't know if my wife and I qualify for welfare, because we never tried. We both work our asses off in hopes of a better future. The people you're talking about are the ones who anger me the most, but all I can do is grit my teeth, work my shift, come home, and laugh till I cry as my very thoughts are mirrored in such colorful ways.

You sir, have a way with words.

Excellent post.

Mr. Medicaid pt. comes in...

Me: "Sir, Wellcare reports you are no longer one of their clients. Do you have a new insurance card?"
MM: "Huh what who how? Won't give me my meds this is ridiculous yadda yadda yadda don't understand blah blah why does this always happen."

I reprocess through Ohio Medicaid, Condor Code #105. Reject states "Please Submit to Anthem Managed Medicaid."

Me: "Do you have a new Anthem Card?"
MM: "Huh what who how? Won't give me my meds this is ridiculous yadda yadda yadda don't understand blah blah why does this always happen. Anthem card in mail at home blah blah."

I reprocess through Anthem while Mr. Medicaid roams over to Salvation Army to look for good deals. He returns and proceeds to give me shit for not filling his aspirin for him like he didn't ask and not filling his metoprolol for him like he didn't ask.

I think pharmacies should be given the job of deciding which Rx plan medicaid clients get. We could put people like this with Argus.

Marry me.

I think I love you.

My favorite thing about Medicaid, is the temporary card. You know, the piece of paper they get before they get their official I don't have to pay for my stool softener card. Then they come into the pharmacy 10 minutes after getting their "free drugs for all" piece of paper, and want to pick up their Ritalin. Then we have to put it into timeout and pray that it gets payed for a month from now. Don't forget the prior auth. Don't get me started.

You are right on and amazing. Just think how much fun we are going to have in the USA if we get a president who favors Socialized Medicine! My husband worked until seventy and then retired. I only made it as a nurse until I was sixty. We do get Medicare Part D, but that is a laugh. Our medicine was cheaper when we paid for it ourselves, back in the dark ages. I loved your post (even if I did have to cover my eyes at the F-bombs)and really enjoyed the comments almost as much. There are some great thinkers in here!

I work a 12 hour shift come home, kiss my wife and daughter, then I go directly to TAP to catch a glimpse of my day. You're preachings couldn't be further from the truth! 9 of every 10 scripts at my pharmacy are welfare scripts. I wish we had the power to decide which of the welfare recipients our tax dollars get to help. Bring on the mandatory drug testing for these lazy pieces of shit!

That was a perfect post. I'm sick of these people.

I hate myself for agreeing with you, but you have some good points. These "smoochers" are ruining for those who really need the assistance. Welfare should be temporary assistance for low income folks while they look for work or education, not permanent sustenance for the rest of their lives. Of course, there are those who will argue, that they come from disadvantaged backgrounds, so on, and so forth. It's not their fault that they are stuck on welfare. It's the system's fault. Well,let's see if a new president will correct this system and whether it's really the system's fault.

Dude you are the best! I want to have your fuck trophies!

Many of you are about to be jealous... My pharmacy is a cash only pharmacy. No third parties of ANY kind. We don't even take those vouchers for "$25 off" some rediculous, Brand name only, drug. Nope. Cash & cash only. I see every day those who make to much for wellfare & not enough for private insurance. Those who do bust their asses and live a rough life, without suckleing on the tit of society.

To Sarah above: You're right that these people with shit-jobs do get their taxed money back at tax time. However, they still have to make ends meet like everyone else, and do it WITHOUT relying on the government. They deserve to get their own money back for being responsible enough to realize that life is tough and nothing in life is free (unless you're on wellfare!). Also, if they do still recieve assistance from some government program, these are the people that "deserve" it. Not the asshole whos "job" it is to check the mail once a month.

Wait - your forgot the next generation. The ones who send their kids to school, get them doped up as ADD or ADHD or Bipolar, then they get another fucken check! Yes, the next generation of welfarefuckers are being bread in the preschool and publicschools.

Gotta Love the Ghetto and the High End White Trash....

I just love to pay for hoochies. 4 babies - 4 babies dads - 4 times the childsupport.

Angry Pharmacist really all I have to say is I LOVE YOU!!

I could so get behind you for any elected office. I love you. Rant some more, I'll keep reading.

I have to say, not all of the Medicaid people are like this. Lots, possibly even the majority of them, are actually unemployed or underemployed people trying to make ends meet. These are the ones you see driving fifteen year old cars with duct tape holding the seats together. It's the ones in the Lincoln Navigators that give the rest a bad name.

But you know what really, truly honks me off?

(This may have changed, as I've been working in Jersey for the last few years, but:) NY Medicaid has a co-pay. $1.00 for generics, $3.00 for brands, 50c for supplies (strips, etc.) But, if they "can't afford" to pay the co-pay, you aren't allowed to withhold service (in this case, the medicine). The debt still exists, you just have to defer collecting on it (probably forever, of course).

So these patients would come into my store in the Bronx and say they don't have any money, pick up their medicine for free (have you looked at reimbursements lately? Chain pharmacists are mostly insulated from this, but I've been working an independent lately and believe me, that $3.00 copay is sometimes all the profit you get) and then...

GO DOWN THE FRONT AND BUY A &*?*_@#!&!!&@ LOTTO TICKET!

What the hell, you just told me you didn't have any money? How did you afford to throw away your nonexistent money on that?

Many of my classmates in med school were like this - wives at home popping out baby after baby as the husband (the med student) sat in class watching DVDs all day on his new computer. Not sh*t-balls by any means - oh no...very self-important medical students that felt they DESERVED this aid! Um...did you not KNOW you would not have an income for the next 4 years when you decided to have that 4th, 5th, 6th kid?
Being supported in medical school by taxpayers who can barely send their own kids to college! Infuriated me!!!

What about the docs who sign off on these people's disability???? I don't think having "can't suck it up syndrome" entitles you to live free for the rest of your life. Sorry your fibromyalgia/depression/chronic fatigue triad is flaring up again - get your butt out of bed and DO something. I know a guy personally (unfortunately) who blew his heart up with meth and now has an EF of like 15% - applying for disability. He'll probably get it. Last time I checked, a minimum ejection fraction isn't one of the standards for having a job at wal-mart.

As a doc, I see the same attitudes in patients. I honestly try to be non-judgemental, because you really never know what someone has been thru. However, it seems that it's the medicaid patients with the biggest attitudes - not appreciative at all of the care they receive - FOR FREE.

I could go on and on about this - as I'm sure we all could. Not sure what the answer is, or if there even is one. I wish I could win powerball and have enough money to just say what I want to these people without caring if I lose my job. Perhaps some of these people have simply had NO ONE tell them them like it is??? How can someone be held accountable for themselves if we keep handing them a check with our mouths shut? Just a fantasy........

This... This... is priceless! Here is an idea... just a random suggestion I've been mulling over. What if we required Welfare recipients to pass drug test before receiving the check... The same check I had to pass a drug test in order to earn for them... Just a thought

Bravo, TAP. Awesome post.

Thank you!

From bottom of my little, underpaid, overworked, tired self

When I see Ms. Attitude in her new truck big enough that my car parks in, demanding her medication for free cause she has an insurance (that I pay for it),,not little part of me dies,,
BIG CHUNK of me is gone forever

when I see young lad, all "cool" pulling out state (you and me) sponsored insurance,,,not little part of me dies,,,,BIG CHunk od me is gone forever,,,

and continues,,,

you all got the picture

Why not just have a universal health care system like the rest of the developed world? You still have to pay for it but at least you get to use it.

By the way---I think that I am also in love with biggest fan--such an enlightened MD...let's get him to do a guest spot some day

?(This may have changed, as I've been working in Jersey for the last few years, but:) NY Medicaid has a co-pay. $1.00 for generics, $3.00 for brands, 50c for supplies (strips, etc.) But, if they "can't afford" to pay the co-pay, you aren't allowed to withhold service (in this case, the medicine). The debt still exists, you just have to defer collecting on it (probably forever, of course). ?

This is actually part of federal Medicaid regulations. When cost sharing (what you know as copays) was introduced with the Deficit Reduction Act, it was written in only if this allowance was made ?If you can?t pay, you can still get your medicine.? This isn?t widely known though, at least not in Minnesota, so most families pay or go without.

My favorite is the Medicaid patient who gets his monthly percocet for $0.50 and then comes back the next day and pays $200+ for BRAND name Oxycontin!!!! ....hmmm interesting isn't it.

Wow, so I'm not the only one that gets like this during tax season!

Hey, at least Uncle Sugar will be off my ass no later than July 27th this year.

I especially love the blank look on their face when you tell them coverage is terminated and they reply that they only missed one 'stupid' appointment. I wish that was all I had in my schedule.

TAP, I think that perhaps you should be a little bit less judgemental of the folks who are driving the fancy cars yet still get state assistance. Lets not forget that many of them are in the same industry as us: pharmaceuticals. For example, they compound "I need more Ajax"; they take orders "how much this shit you want?"; they dispence "here your 8 ball"; they council "this shit'll fuck-you-up"; and they bill third parties "gimme my muthafuckin' money or I'm gonna cap your bitch". You see, we need to be a little bit more understanding of their struggle. Not everybody on welfare just sits on their asses all day doing nothing.

So I got a phone call from the head of the Department of Medicaid Services in my state the other day. I felt sooooo special and honored that he would be calling lowly little me. My transgression? I had not overridden the $5 copay on a Medicaid patients brandname, non-formulary Avelox prescription. The patient immediately kicked up such a fuss with Medicaid that the Head Honcho got on the phone and called me right up. He said that I was not allowed to refuse service to Medicaid patients. I pointed out that I wasn't REFUSING service, I was requiring $5 in hand before I let the medication out the door. I pointed out that the week before the patient had had no problem paying $5 for her oxycontin RX. . . .Seriously, I would LOVE to have a prescription that was non-formulary only cost me $5. How is it that some people with medicaid feel entitled to everything, and the people that work their butts off for everything have to pay for medicaid AND their own insurance. What a crock

I don't understand. How can you call living without a big screen TV, caller ID, and a pair of nike's a way of life?

These people drive me nuts. As a newbie pharmacist in a ghetto of a hellhole pharmacy, I see this crap every fucking day. And to top it off, we have 2 pain clinics nearby. So all the medicaid junkies get their oxycontin/fentanyl/percocet/hydrocodone every effing month.

My most recent transgression was a beast of a woman who presented 4 Rx's along with her Medicaid card. The Rx's were for Norco #120 QID, Xanax 2mg #90 TID, Ambien 10mg #60 2qHS, and get this...Oxycontin 80mg #240 (yes, two hundred and forty) 2 QID. Medicaid wouldn't pay for the Oxycontin brand name (thank God) but she decided she wanted to pay cash for it. We're talking $4,000 dollars CASH for this shit. Now, I wasn't going to fill it anyways because of the dose/directions, but the fact that this waste of a human being wanted to get 4 Rx's for controlled substances (3 for 3 bucks each) and then pay 4 grand cash for the other one nearly drove me to have a coronary. She threw a hissy when I told her no and even had the MD call me. I told him she wanted to pay CASH for the oxycontin and his response was "well, that's her business." Wonder if he was getting any kickbacks on that?? Anyways, I called our state bureau of drug control and informed them of the patient and the MD (who doses Oxycontin QID anyways???), but I doubt anything will come from it.

Medicaid people who treat me like garbage piss me off. Junkies (regardless of social status) piss me off even more. Medicaid patients who ARE junkies take the fucking cake.

I love you, love you, love you, and glad to see you back, I was getting worried bout you...14 days is too long without a rant. Well said, bravo.Just one thing was wrong about your latest post...the people that you are talking about don't have the brains to log on a computer, read your post..and understand what you are saying!!

At some point long ago, being proud of who you are, what you do for a living and what you've accomplished, had became insulting. I call bullshit -- and please, be insulted, maybe it'll motivate your piss-poor bitch and moan attitude. My "good fortune" wasn't an accident.

That being said, I, along with you (and just about everyone that's posted so far) enjoy being some of the most insulting individuals on the planet.

Here's to you!

No I Love poor people...Because they think I am an all knowing and All seeing God( supreme being, higher power etc for you liberals). These poor unfortunate down trodden people make a pilgrimage to me the Oracle of Walgreens to see my awesome power. As they walk in I know their insurance (even when they give me a card for a 3 year old plan) they know that I will be able to find their current plan no matter how long it takes. They are even graetful enough to pay for their 1.00 co-pay with their EBT card while they gat their jerky and cheese puffs. They can ask me to get the plan to pay for their oxycodone that is 8 days early ... They think I am a god. So I love poor people without them my life would be NORMAL..

I thank you kindly for such straight-to-the-point blog. You pretty much wrote how I feel whenever I'm working in the pharmacy. I work as an intern in chain pharmacy with "Drive-Through", and as you can imagine, it kills me to see SOB who drives Cadillac SUV, and tosses Medicaid card into the slot and tells me, "I don't pay nothing." Gee... makes me wonder how in the world they can afford to buy Cadillac and use Medicaid while I'm looking a paycheck and see I lose out 30% on all those taxes AND MEDICAID. Those ungrateful ones deserve no sympathy of mine.

Laughing so hard I bout peed my pants. I love it when someone tells it like it is without all the nicey nice bs. Thanks, that was great. Kelly

Biggest Fan is a chick...! :)

yep that is all so very true. Why we let these fucking welfare bums vote is beyond me. They'll just vote themselves a raise at the expense of those paying their wages.

where do you people work? In 13 years, I have never - NEVER - ecountered a medicaid receipient who was rude, undeserving, unclean, irresponsible, came to the store with at least 4 other people in the middle of the night (all talking on cell phones), come out in zero degree weather sans coat, talk in a slur, refer to their home as "the house", all their kids suffering from asthma and adhd, all the kids sporting a different last name, most boys named after their highly accomplished fathers (even if this means 2 of the kids get the same name) (some girls are even named after the mother)...and my all time fav, I've never waited on a 15 year old girl named "passion" getting a prescription for Plan B. I must be lucky. As I said, this never happens to me.

I have experienced a variation of this behavior from some of my classmates.

Some of us have gotten grants from the Texas Workforce Commission. They pay our tuition, pay for our board exam, buy our uniforms and supplies and give us gas cards.

Last week I was told that instead of 3 gas cards they would only give me 2. My response?

Thank you.

I have 2 gas cards where before I had none. My caseworker (if that's the title, I'm not sure) told me that so often students get angry when they find out they can't get the all the gas cards they thought they would get. The have lost sight of the fact that they are getting FREE GAS that they wouldn't have gotten were it not for the grant.

Is there something about entitlement programs that turn people into selfish assholes? Apparently so.

Wow there are a lot of comments, hopefully someone sees this one.
"Welfare" says that you can only have vehicle, but they dont specify that this vehicle can't be a loaded porsche cayenne turbo. I have a few patients who roll up in cars with leather and nav while their kids pick up medicaid scripts and I just wonder how much coke they had to buy/resell with their wellfare checks to afford that car that ~50% of my paycheck every week helped pay for.

*****A local newspaper here did a study where they took 2 welfare recipients that were in similar situations and had one get a job and get off welfare. At the end of the study period, the person on welfare had more leftover money than the person busting their ass 40 hours a week to get by. Society gives these people no reason to work.*****

I mean I'm sure I wouldn't work if someone said they would give me more money for free than if I worked my ass off for 40 hours a week. Then there are the ones who do "under the table" work AND receive welfare. Makes me sick. They need to be a lot stricter in deciding who can receive welfare and also decrease the support so that these people can help contribute to society instead of breeding children who become criminals by age 7.

Great post. You're telling it like it is. But let's not forget the abuse of the system by some of our (probably illegal) immigrants. I primarily work for a large chain & I'd like to ask for a green card before I fill a medicaide Rx that needs translation to Spanish. We also have a middle eastern immigrant who owns 3 quikee mart type stores whose children are all on medicaide. My side job is as a consultant pharmacist at the county health dept. 10 years ago the clientle was primarily poor black people & we dispensed lots of birth control pills & std drugs. Now it's primarily hispanic & mostly prenatal care. Most of my friends consider me a Liberal but this shit disgusts me.

Loved the rant, mirrors my exact sentiments that I do express daily to anyone that will listen...

Just wanted to say to Sarah. I'm a tech - guess how much that means I make? Yeah, exactly. Yet I make too much to qualify for ANY grants to help pay for my schooling - I pay entirely out of pocket for books and tuition. I have never applied for but I did look into the requirements for qualifying for Medicaid/EBT online one day when I was totally fed up with those Escalade driving patients on Medicaid and realized that because I put my money in a bank account I wouldn't qualify for it anyway even if I did suck up my pride and apply.

Do you realize that as a technician I make $5000 over the poverty level? Would you like to know why? Because of all the $0's! The mean of 5 incomes ranging from $0, $0, $0, $10,000, and $20,000 is $6,000. That really sucks for the $10,000 worker that can't make the rent or buy food for their table because 3 people out of 5 decided to work in the street drug industry making more money than the legitamite drug dealer at the local retail pharmacy because they have $0 overhead costs because Medicaid paid for that RX of 180 Oxycontin 80mg that they are selling for $80 a pill and making exactly $14,400 profit off of only 1 of their medications - add in the "Lor-A-Tab (the blue ones)" and their "Xanny Bars" money and they make much more than the $20,000 income that was originally stated in the 5 incomes.

So no, the person you say is probably on that Medicaid and getting excess on their tax refunds at the end of the year is not necessarily true. Thanks for the sentiment but I will continue to bust my ass going to school AND working and not enjoying any of the sunshine outside as TAP so eloquently put it and make something of myself so I do not have to count myself privelaged of being in the same category as the lowlife medicaid scum that is in existance today.

/rant off.

Great post. You're telling it like it is. But let's not forget the abuse of the system by some of our (probably illegal) immigrants. I primarily work for a large chain & I'd like to ask for a green card before I fill a medicaide Rx that needs translation to Spanish. We also have a middle eastern immigrant who owns 3 quikee mart type stores whose children are all on medicaide. My side job is as a consultant pharmacist at the county health dept. 10 years ago the clientle was primarily poor black people & we dispensed lots of birth control pills & std drugs. Now it's primarily hispanic & mostly prenatal care. Most of my friends consider me a Liberal but this shit disgusts me.

This was just too rich for words. If I wasn't as old as I am, i would be a librarian instead of a pharmacist.

Learned a little trick from an old master I workded with years ago--helps let off a little steam.

Welfare person has no trouble waiting 4 hours in the ER to get that rash he's had for weeks looked at but when he trots in the RX he needs it filled in 5 minutes. Sandy's response: "Sir, it is going to be a little longer than 5 minutes, but why don't you give me your supervisor's phone number and I can explain to him you have to wait here and will be a little late for work"

So has anyone suggested that these people just sell their Escalades in order to pay their medicaid co-pays? What was the response?

Hey I was looking up Lovenox online and ran into your site. I love it! It's very informative as well as entertaining and I will continue to visit your site regularly. I am a pharmacy technician and can use the information you are ranting about. Hell, I might even take notes!

Another one you may borrow (I did): Welfare recipient yells at you that you're taking too long to fill the prescription, whereupon you generously offer to waive the "insurance" co-pay for their terrible inconvenience, whereupon recipient indignantly declares that they don't even have no co-pay, at which time you may reply, "ExZACTly--it'll be a couple more minutes."

Thank you for introducing me to 'fuck trophys'. And the "Shart" back in december.

My quality of life has sky-rocketed since I found your site. You make me realize that maybe I do enjoy retail pharmacy a tiny bit. Like a miniscule amount.

I just wanted to say that I completely agree with everything you said! I am not a pharmacist, however I work for a TPA that administers benefits for several welfare/Medicaid plans across the US. Not only do we provide free doctors visits and prescriptions, we also provide free taxi rides as well! These people are so ungrateful for everthing they have handed to them...it's ridiculous. All day long I have to hear complaining about copays, meds not being covered or needing prior auth, the taxi not picking them up fast enough, etc. When you talk to them on the phone, they will start off just as sweet as can be until you tell them a med isn't covered, then they degenerate into screaming, name calling maniacs. Especially when it involves their controlled meds! Luckily I only have contact with them over the phone.... I feel for all of you who have to deal with them in person.

First time writer, long time reader...
I work in a retail chain pharmacy and I see this everyday. I have many patients picking up
Rxs for their kids 5 days late. I also see people complain about copays when we charge them $1, but they seem to be okay paying for a bag of flaming hot cheetos that cost $1.05....Yes, they also drive the cars that I want to have, but can't because I have to support my family..

To M2pilot: You Mr. are in the wrong profession if you want to ask everyone for their green card. Maybe you should be work for the INS or Border Patrol. You are a Pharmacist who is supposed to help people with their health not there immigration status. I think you missed the point that TAP was trying to make. Not all spanish speaking people are illegal immigrants or drive fancy cars in the drive-thru with their kids on the front seat with no seat belt.. There are people out there that come here for a better life and work their ass off to support their family and pay the $1 copay, not bitch about the price so they can have money for their weed.

P.S. I hope you don't work for Walgreens...

SupeTech-I shouldn't be working for the INS or Border Patrol but they should be able to do their job. I welcome any & all Legal immigrants to this country & wish them well. I'm potato famine Irish just a few generations back. I'm not sure, but I think I'm glad I don't work for WAG.

I love you! THANK YOU FOR THIS POST! I hope those bastards who get 20 medications per month READ THIS POST!

“So no, the person you say is probably on that Medicaid and getting excess on their tax refunds at the end of the year is not necessarily true. Thanks for the sentiment but I will continue to bust my ass going to school AND working and not enjoying any of the sunshine outside as TAP so eloquently put it and make something of myself so I do not have to count myself privelaged of being in the same category as the lowlife medicaid scum that is in existance today.”

Just so you know, I AM the person whose children are on Medicaid, busting ass in a full time job, in school, volunteering over 20 hours per week in the community, and receiving SSI for one child. So YES, this does happen and it will CONTINUE to happen. One unfortunate thing about how our society is built to help people who are low income is that apparently single adults without children (or grown children) don’t matter all that much. If you happen to work and are a single adult without children, your options are fairly limited. It is much easier to fall under 150% poverty working with two dependents.

TAP if you are ever in the Midwest let me know, I believe I owe you a beer sir!

Biggest Fan, I am now your biggest fan, you really should go to pharmacy school :). But seriously, I believe the drink offer applies to you as well!!!

And to add to the discussion, I agree that there needs to be more incentive to get these people off of welfare. I have always thought this to be a great way for the government to cut spending. I call this my welfare-to-work program. In order to get your check you perform menial tasks (ie stuffing envelopes) for the government, they save money, you get your check, drive your escalade and pay nothing for medication, all while disabled seniors have to sell their lifelong home to pay for their meds. God I feel like I'm taking crazy pills here!!! (Zoolander)

And before you jump down Sarah's throat for having two kids on SSI, read her blog.

Her children have REAL disabilities, not fake disabilities like ADHD diagnosed before their first birthday.

When I was in pharmacy school in the early 1990s, earned income credit was not available to people without dependents no matter how low their income was.

medicade pays for my advair hfa, ventolin hfa, subutex(500 bucks there) and all my other meds. and it costs under 20 bucks. im greatful. and yes u can get trade name cheerios on food stamps. u can go up and buy a bag of m&ms and a mountain dew at the counter if u want . it dont matter as long as food. they should put soap on there as allowed cause alot of stinky welfare people dont wash. im a stuggling recovering drug addict. i dont use the system. i am greatful for it. and for my kick ass medicade insurance.

all I have to say is AMEN Angry Pharmacist, AMEN!!!!! People who do not see these lousy wastes of society on a daily basis have no freaking clue how these fuckers have it made! When my own technicians choose to go without health insurance because they have to choose between having a place to live or getting health insurance and the lousy wage they make at a chain pharmacy puts them above the level to qualify for any government assistance! This world is one fucked up place.

Keith, if the assistance you get from Medicaid keeps you clean, I'm all for you being on it. You sound like someone who's made some mistakes in life but is doing things to make it better.

And upon re-reading Sarah's posts, only one of her children is on SSI. IMHO, the other one deserves it too.

My grandmother was on Medicaid for the last few years of her life. Who do you think foots the bill for all those people in nursing homes?

It's called learned helplessness. One of the biggest yet least talked about problems with welfare/medicaid.

I work at a 24 hour store. One of two in our town. We also happen to be the closest to about 75% of the hospitals/walk-in clinics/ERs. So, when every other pharmacy closes, we get slammed. Needless to say, our wait time goes up. Even with a good staff on hand, our wait times can sometimes be well over an hour. Why is it that Medicaid assholes seem to think that they should get their meds NOW?? As if they're more important than everyone else in line. And, of course, they ALWAYS want to know how much their copays are going to be and refuse to move from the drive-thru til they find out. Here in Missouri, your fucking copays are ALWAYS going to be $.50, $1.00, or $2.00. Just bring enough like everything was gonna be a measly two bucks and you'll be set!

I couldn't agree more. Both myself and my husband work very hard. I am pissed that I have to pay for let's face it lazy fucktards to sit on their ass, and pay for my own insurance aswell.

Those who pop kids like fucking rabbits, so they can receive more money from the government need to be spayed immediately. Just take them to an army medic, they'll do it just for the practice!