Brand name birth control suddenly went from $42 to $450.

I went to pick up my 3 month supply of brand name birth control (Yaz) that has been $42 the last two times I picked it up. It was $450 when I went to pay. The pharmacy said all my info looks the same and that my next scheduled pickup in late January would be for $42 so I have to call my insurance.

I’ve called UnitedHealthcare and the first rep said that there had previously been a “point of sale discount” and I should get a three month script written for birth control because of something like a healthcare reform for preventative purposes and that should solve it, but I went into my pharmacy to check and they said that is already what the script is written for.

I called my insurance again and this rep said that I should get my doctor’s office to fill out a form stating that this script is for birth control purposes only and that they’ll know what the form is. But when I called my doctor’s office they were clueless but said if I give them a form from my insurance, they’ll fill it out.

So I call UHC again and the next two reps just gave me the phone number and a link to their appeals page, but I couldn’t fill it out because it needed a denial case # for me to fill out and get to the next page which I don’t have because I haven’t been denied anything.

I just have no idea what this form the 2nd rep mentioned was and if it would even affect the price. From Googling, I’ve found prior authorization forms but I don’t think that’s what she meant and that looks like a long process that doesn’t always work and I need my pills yesterday. Also, I don’t even know if that’s the issue.

I’m still not even really clear on why the price is what it is and why it jumped and why it will go back down in January? Should I just buy it for the $450 so I can have access to my medication and try to get it reimbursed down the line? Maybe ask for 1 month and use a GoodRx coupon? I feel so stuck and don’t know who to call next.