I work as a medical practitioner and prescribe medications. In the United States refills are limited to a one year duration. No prescription regardless of class of medication can have a refill quantity beyond a year. There is absolutely no such thing as an unlimited refill, or a 10-year refill, or even an 18 month refill. It is also standard practice for stable patients to be seen only once a year by a specialist, in this case the endocrinologist. It is not a way to make money, but a standard of care and simply good medical practice. If money were the goal a patient would be seen much more frequently than a year. I would advocate for labs once a year if your primary care provider is not doing it, or you are not seeing your primary care provider. Once a patient is stable on HRT for a time only routine monitoring is required, again this also keeps costs down. Refill quantities are strictly regulated by the DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency) and I can provide the specific regulation if you would like. Sorry you have been led into thinking there are unlimited refills and no follow-up care necessary, which would be terrible medical practice.
