06.04.2026 - my transmasc experience with hrt-lessness
tldr; i got new insurance, let my medi-cal lapse, and got bounced around call center to call center to no avail in getting my medication, and finally give up and just pay for it out of pocket, which got me same-day fulfillment at my pharmacy
hey, happy pride month everypony, guess who finally got his fucking prescription filled after just over TWO months, TWO!!! MONTHS!!!, of nonsense and bullshit!
before i begin, i just want to say that i really appreciate all the call center workers and reps that spoke with me over the phone, especially those who went out of their way to try to provide me with more helpful information. picking up phone calls from disgruntled people at all hours of the day is not easy and i got nothing but respect for fellow workers here just trying to get by. my problem is solely with the policies and practices of united healthcare, the obtuseness of which the american medical insurance system operates by, and also possibly things grander in scale than that which i find hard to identify. you don't need to hear it from me, but yeah - be nice to the people picking up your calls. i wish there was a way to hold institutions accountable.
i'm hoping that, by writing this and putting my experience out there, this record will contribute to other transmasc folks and their considerations in the now, will exist as some sort of footnote for future me to remember and reflect upon, and will help current me stop malding about what happened. what i'll be experimenting with in the near future as a result of this ordeal is in trying to meet other transmasc people and trans men in their hrt journeys to gain some insight and collective understanding on these situations. i never want to do that again, and i also never want someone else to go through this and feel as confused as i was.
the beginning - 3/31/2026: i visit my new pcp as i have unitedhealthcare's signaturevalue harmony hmo plan through my work. it's in partnership with a specific optum location, meaning that it uses less of my employee medical allowance compared to fullscale unitedhealthcare insurance, but i am locked into the specific branch of optum that i signed up with. the visit goes quite well, in that i established care with my new doctor, my new doctor is nice enough, and i showed her the vial of testosterone cypionate i had left from my previous refill. there are minor hiccups - i learn that i may be the second transgender patient at this office and certainly first transmasculine patient, which is not fantastic news, but i come out feeling optimistic. my provider seems very open to working with me on my care, the office has a direct messaging system through my phone, and it all feels pretty new and fancy.
message history: i feel that i should just give you, the reader, the dates of the messages i had with my doctor's office, and that will elucidate just how stupid this conversational relay became. on 3/31, i receive a text from cvs stating that my prescription requires insurance approval. that's same-day submission of the paperwork by the office, i love to see that! i'm pretty sure i call or text my doctor's office about that, because by april 6, they sent over an authorization notice. on april 7th, my doctor directly texts me to let me know that the Rx testosterone injection was approved by insurance and that it was being processed by Caremark LLC specialty pharmacy. they even give me an authorization number! april 8, i message the doctor to know i received a MAIL LETTER stating that my order is approved. i'm constantly being communicated to and also following up with all communications as soon as possible. april 11, doctor replies again to say it has been submitted. like what is going on?? i don't want to get ahead of myself, but my medication continues to be out of reach on 4/16, 4/27, 5/1, 5/12, 5/15, and 5/26. those are the dates which for certain i reached out to someone about my order. i'm going to try to track down the phone numbers i called for various other parties and the dates as well, but that's a bit of a harder ask since i need to comb through my call logs.
pharmacy nonsense - the week of 4/16/2026: april 14, two weeks after i've initiated the process for a weekly hormonal medication, i request a refill and swap pharmacies in case that's the issue preventing my prescription from being available. this is the week that i first get fucking tossed around.
footnote, this is something im writing in progress - i will continue to work on this as i have the time. having fulltime work is part of the reason why this ordeal got dragged out so long in the first place orz