Are you fucking kidding me?

Yesterday I went to the doctor and was given prescriptions for allergy medicine. For some reason, this year, my allergies have gone ape-shit. He gave me prescriptions for two things. One is a nasal spray, which, if used daily for a week or so, will prevent histamines from being released. The other is an anti-histamine, which prevents released histamines from attaching. When I went to the pharmacy to pick up the prescriptions, I was shocked to discover that each medicine had a $50 co-pay. My insurance company has 3 tiers of drugs, which cost $10, $20, and $50, respectively. The tiers are explained as follows (the important lines are italicized):

# Tier 1- Drugs offering the greatest value within a therapeutic class. Some of these are the generic equivalents of brand name drugs.
# Tier 2 - Moderate Cost Drugs. These can be multi-source brand name drugs which are drugs which have a generic equivalent. Other drugs on this tier are the preferred drugs within a therapeutic class based on clinical efficacy and cost as determined by the Anthem Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee.
# Tier 3 - Higher Cost Drugs. These are typically single source brand name drugs which are brand name drugs that do not have a generic equivalent. These also may include single source brand name drugs that have no other therapeutic equivalent, but are determined to be a third tier drug solely on the basis of cost. In addition, drugs on this tier may be a higher cost than equivalent drugs on lower tiers or drugs determined to be less efficient than equivalent drugs on lower tiers by the Anthem Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee.

Yes. The insurance company is evidently in charge of determining which drugs I should take. They know which drugs are efficient and which are inefficient. I'm not sure why I should go to a doctor at all. I can understand why insurance companies have different co-pay amounts for generic and name brand drugs. It makes perfect sense that they should try to influence the patients to take the least expensive version of a medication. But that third tier is bullshit. There is no valid reason for the insurance company to dictate which drugs are effective. That should be up to the doctor and patient.