Some days you just know you are in the cross hairs of a pigeon with dysentery. I think that was me yesterday. On my lunch hour I go to the drive up at Walgreens to pick up my prescriptions. This is always a painful experience at $154.00 a pop. Well at least they have this rewards program that you gain points with every dollar you spend and then can redeem them at the store on purchases. I told my doctor once the drug company could do more for my blood pressure by just lowering the cost of the medicine because I feel mine hit the roof every time I get it refilled.

When a guy at work went home sick yesterday it prompted me that it was time to get my flu shot. So after work I return to my Walgreens and go back to the pharmacy. I tell the gent I am there for a flu shot. He pulls up my personal info and then says "you do know that your insurance will not pay anything on this don't you?". Well I tell him I am not surprised. For most cases the word insurance really means it will insure that you end up healthy in the poor house. I see the brilliant thinking of the insurance company. They would rather you go to the doctor and pay for an office call in the mean time get exposed to all kinds of contagion in the waiting room to get a flu shot. Why would we use a less costly alternative?

The clerk tells me the cost will be $33.00. I think "well I know I have at least $15.00 of rewards points (courtesy that blood pressure medicine made from the excrement of a rare insect found only in Antarctica)." I say "I have some rewards I would like to use". He looks at me as if I had just pulled a marlin out of my ear. He says "oh you can't use your rewards for that!". It was my understanding that you could use them for purchases in the store. Oh let's see I guess I can use them to buy 25 containers of Epsom salts! I am now pretty weary from the entire health care ordeal. The nice pharmacy technician calls me in the room to finally give me my shot. She is very pleasant and we chat a bit but I am still reeling from too much preventative health care. She says "you will feel a prick". I am thinking "sister I felt the prick earlier when this pharmacology nightmare began". As I leave the store with my Rewards points still safely in reserve to use on that future purchase of toe nail fungus remedy I had a strange hankering for a cigarette.