A woman questioned a Walgreens pharmacy employee after he initially told her to return the next day for her prescription, only to hand it over moments after she said her current health insurance was expiring that night.
Melissa Lomuscio, TikTok username @melissalomuscio, shared a video. She had called the pharmacy earlier that morning and was told her prescription would be ready that day. However, when she arrived at the store, an employee initially suggested that she come back the next day.
The interaction changed after she mentioned that she was switching to a new insurance plan.
Woman Called Walgreens to Check Whether Her Prescription Was Ready
Lomuscio began her video by asking viewers familiar with pharmacy procedures to explain what might have happened.
“Can anybody who works at a pharmacy or just knows how a pharmacy works, please explain to me how they work,” she said.
She then described calling Walgreens that morning to ask whether the pharmacy could refill her prescription and whether it was ready for collection.
Per Lomuscio, the employee who answered assured her that she could pick it up that day.
“She said, ‘Yeah, totally. We can do that for you today. Like, come in,’” Lomuscio recalled.
She said she agreed and headed to the pharmacy.
Pharmacy Employee Told Her to Return the Next Day
When Lomuscio arrived, she told the employee at the counter that she was there to collect her prescription.
“He goes, ‘Ooh. I think it’s coming in tomorrow,’” she recalled.
Lomuscio said she reminded him that she had called earlier and had been told to come in that day. The employee then checked the prescription before returning with a similar answer.
“He goes and checks. Comes back. ‘Mmm, yeah. You know, probably just come back tomorrow,’” she said.
Lomuscio said she accepted the possibility that something might have changed since her phone call, but the timing created a problem because her insurance coverage was about to expire.
Prescription Appeared After She Mentioned Her Insurance Was Expiring
Lomuscio explained that the day of her visit was the last day of her current insurance coverage. She was scheduled to switch to a new plan the following day.
She said she mentioned the change to the employee while thinking aloud, explaining that she would have to switch to her new insurance if she returned the next day.
“And he was like, ‘Hmm, one second,’” she recalled.
Per Lomuscio, the employee then walked to the back of the pharmacy and returned with her prescription.
The timing surprised her because she had just been told that she would probably need to come back the following day. She did not identify the medication or explain whether she ultimately paid using her existing insurance.
Woman Asked Why the Employee Had Not Given Her Prescription Earlier
Lomuscio said she questioned the employee after he returned with the medication.
“Sir, why didn’t you have it before? Why are you gatekeeping it? Why are you telling me to come back tomorrow when you had it? What is that about?” she recalled asking.
She said she tried to think of possible reasons for the employee’s initial response but could not come up with an explanation that made sense to her.
Lomuscio ended the video by asking, “It’s like, why? Is it like a… I don’t know. Does anybody know? Odd.”
How Viewers Reacted
One said, “People need to stop using Walgreens and CVS. Find a small privately owned pharmacy or even one at a grocery store.”
Another explained, “Because it probably routed to their central fill location and when it does, we aren’t supposed to call it back unless it’s an ’emergency’ or antibiotic, or in your case, a change in insurance would qualify. We could pretty much call anything back; don’t get me wrong, there was just a protocol they want us to follow. Central fill locations fill scripts for the stores. It’s supposed to decrease work level for the techs in the store.”
One viewer said, “I really thought this was a fantasy when you said Walgreens pharmacy answered the phone”
