An Honest Review of Nurx for Acne Treatment
As someone who resides in a dense, metropolitan area, it is common to struggle to find appointment availability. Even when I’m able to get a dermatology appointment, it can still run a few hundred dollars, even with insurance. For this reason, I’ve always wanted to try online services like Nurx to get my topical retinoids refilled.
In college, I partnered with Curology to try out a personalized acne formula in exchange for a blog post. I loved my experience with Curology and considered trying them again for an updated retinoid formula. However, I soon realized they don’t take insurance. I didn’t want to pay out-of-pocket if I didn’t have to. Nurx was one of the few online healthcare providers I found that accepted insurance. So, I figured it was worth a try.
What is Nurx?
Nurx is an online healthcare provider that provides access to prescription medications like birth control, prescription skincare, and at-home tests for STIs and HPV. Unlike traditional doctor visits, you don’t even need to leave home to receive your prescription. You complete your appointment virtually via a survey, and then your medications arrive at your doorstep with free shipping. Or, at least that’s my understanding of the process. We’ll get into my personal experience below.
Does Nurx Take Insurance?
Yes, Nurx takes insurance. This was one of the main reasons I decided to go with Nurx over the competition. Nurx was one of the few, if not only, online healthcare providers I found that accepted insurance.
NuRX Timeline
Since I knew the retinoid formula/s I needed, I expected the process to be a breeze. I first signed up for Nurx, linked my insurance, paid the copay, and completed my account and questionnaire on January 17th. Ten days later, I still had a hold on my account saying my treatment is “under review by their care team.” I didn’t receive any communication from Nurx in those 10 days, but the copay charge was immediately posted on my credit card. I messaged in the private portal to check in and see if there was anything they needed from me, and still no communication. Since I still hadn’t heard back and my treatment was still “under review by the care team,” I messaged again requesting to be refunded and deactivate my account. Still no reply until a generic response two days later. The message stated they were busy and that I should hear from someone soon. So, it was 12 days without any substantive updates/information.
What’s Next?
Your guess is as good as mine. I am still awaiting a reply to see if they’d be willing to refund me, or at least provide an update. My guess is they’ll refuse the refund. If you’ve tried Nurx before, how long did it take for your prescription(s) to arrive? I don’t mind if the process takes a while, but the overall lack of communication is a little unsettling. It would have been nice to have a message at the beginning of the process to at least outline expectations for the timeline. Since my experience with Curology was so seamless in the past, I had the same expectations for Nurx.
Update
On January 30th, 13 days after my credit card was charged, I finally received a message from a care provider. The provider completely ignored my request for topical-only treatment. Instead, she recommended a topic, oral, and birth control. In my questionnaire (which was a $40 consultation), I specifically requested two topical medications and selected I was not interested in alternative products. The message the care provider, and she was able to remove the other two items.
I received a charge to my credit card the next day for the topical treatments. However, there was no indication my prescription was run through insurance. Again, being able to use RX insurance was one of the many reasons I selected to use Nurx. I sent another message through the message portal and, once again, waited multiple days for a response.
When I finally received a response, it was another generic message about how I should consult the pharmacy for the product cost. The message also stated that I would have been notified prior to my credit card being charged if the prescription was over $30. My prescription was over $30, and I was never notified. Furthermore, there is still no evidence my insurance was ever included in the cost.