Tennessee mom receives her baby’s critical $4,000 meds after a delay. Then she realizes something went very wrong: ‘should not be charging you’

A mother in East Tennessee has shared footage of her infant son’s specialty medication arriving late and, according to her, without proper refrigeration, in a package cooled by gel packs labeled as plant food. The video was posted by a creator who goes by Annabell | Mama x2 on TikTok, under the handle @ban_annaa. 

The clip shows her opening a cardboard box that contains a “Sharps and medication disposal guide” from Optum. Text placed over the footage reads: “Opening your baby’s $4,000 medication that delivered 4 days late & wasn’t kept refrigerated in transit – the saxophones are getting louder.”

As the video continues, she pulls several white and green packs out of the box. They are printed with the words “NUTRICE INNOVATIVE PLANT FOOD GEL PACK.” Underneath them sits a teal and white carton of Dupixent (dupilumab) injection, 200 mg/1.5 mL. A container of alcohol prep pads is visible nearby.

The medication was replaced within days after calls to the pharmacy and prescriber

Dupixent is a biologic treatment. Annabell’s caption and hashtags indicate her son is being treated for eczema and asthma, two of the conditions the drug is prescribed for. For families, the financial and bureaucratic hurdles in healthcare can extend beyond cost, as seen when a South Carolina mom called out state law after being told she must wait weeks for medical treatment following her unborn baby’s death. 

In her caption, she wrote: “And the cherry on top? It’s our last refill before PA & insurance approval all over again IYKYK. #dupixent #eczema #asthma #fyp #ups count your days.” “PA” is common shorthand for prior authorization, the process in which an insurer must approve a treatment before agreeing to cover it. Such delays in critical care can cause significant stress for families, as when a Cincinnati woman’s son stopped growing four months after birth. 

Responding to viewers in the comments, she said the delivery had not been shipped without any protection at all. When one person asked whether the package was insulated, she replied that there had been an insulation piece behind the box, and that she had removed it before filming to show the condensation and water that had leaked.

She also said the situation was resolved. After speaking with the specialty pharmacy and her son’s prescriber at his dermatologist’s office, a replacement was arranged and shipped. In a separate reply, she confirmed the replacement reached her the following morning, and that her son ended up receiving his injection two days behind schedule.

Annabell said in the comments that she uses Optum specialty pharmacy, that this was her fifth month of Dupixent deliveries, and that she had not run into a problem before this shipment. She also said she is not paying the $4,000 figure herself, and that her insurance has approved and covered the treatment so far.

One of the most-liked responses on the video addressed who should absorb the cost of a shipment that arrives in that condition. The commenter wrote: “They should not be charging you an item that is defective. That is not your fault and it’s their fault.”

Another viewer wrote: “I’m so sorry. Every month I worry my medication will show up this way with fed ex. They shoukd send out a new one ASAP!” Annabell replied: “Thank goodness we got a replacement and he was only 2 days late for his injection.”

One commenter compared pharmacies, writing: “What speciality pharm do you use? I get Dupixent from ACCREDO and they ship it in a mini foam cooler and I haven’t had an incident like that (so far at least) I’m so sorry to hear about this. Dupixent is already a physical pain to bear with let alone the stress this will add. so sorry for you and baby.” Annabell answered: “We currently use Optum specialty pharmacy! This is our 5th month on dupixent and I haven’t had a problem until this came in & I couldn’t believe it.”

Another person described a lost delivery of their own: “FedEx has done this to me before They threw it behind a bush and I never saw the package. Thankfully, the speciality pharmacy replaced the medication.” A viewer in the United Kingdom responded to that comment: “americans get it delivered by fedex?! in the uk a specialist pharmacy delievers and it has to be handed to you.”