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I had been getting my meds through a pharmacy owned by my insurance provider, Texas Health Choice, and both Sinemet CR (50/200) and Requip (2 mg.) were being supplied to me for five dollars for a two months supply by mail or seven dollars for one month's supply at the pharmacy. Then it happened: The pharmacies were closed, and we were told to buy our meds through Express Scripts, if by mail, or at a local grocery's pharmacy, if we preferred. I recently went to my ND, got two new prescriptions and sent them in to Express Scripts to be filled. They filled the Sinemet prescription, but the Requip prescription came back with a form letter that read: "We regret that we are unable to fill your prescription for Requip. The medication is not considered a Maintenance Drug as defined in your health plan and is therefore not eligible for your health plan's mail order benefits. You should obtain the medication from your local retail plan pharmacy." In other words, they explained, it is no longer formulary, and my benefit is no longer a small copay but rather, I was told, a 50% discount (off of what?). And that upset me for a number of reasons. First, how is Requip not a maintenance drug? Second, should an HMO be able to reclassify a drug as non-formulary in a unilateral action? And third, what does this ultimately mean for prescription drug coverage by Medicare? The ramifications of actions like this could greatly affect the quality of health care in our system. I would be most curious to learn whether or not others have had similar experiences, what they have done about it, and what effect it has had. Art