@@Asthma medication being discontinued/cost at play

[1yeartogo]

www.cnn.com/2023/12/28/health/asthma-inhaler-generic-switch/index.html

I think this is important news for anyone on Flovent, but the article discusses the larger implications of why this happened and (shocker) big pharma has been raising costs unacceptably so this is being done for financial purposes.

[StrawberryBlondie]

I don't take this medication, but I'm always shocked at the cost of my asthma medication whenever I need to refill my prescription. My insurance requires 90-day refills for daily meds (which in general, I like) but even with insurance, each inhaler ends up being somewhere between $30-40. That means every time I have to refill, I'm looking at over $100. I can afford it, and I need functioning lungs, so I suck it up, but it's crazy how much it costs just to be able to breathe.

Another annoyance I have is that my insurance decides every 2-3 years that it's not going to cover whatever daily inhaler I'm on. Their most recent switch was that they would only cover the one I'm on now for kids under 5. I brought the covered drug list to my pulmonologist and she found one that she thought would be a good option for me but it's ridiculous. With medications for things like breathing, you shouldn't have to be forced to try a medication, hope it works, and if it doesn't, then petition your insurance to cover the one you already know works and hope you don't die in the meantime because you can't breathe.

[minzy]

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Thanks for the heads up on this. My daughter just started Flovent recently and I think we can get it refilled before the end of the month so maybe I’ll try to do that. Ugh.

[macmars45]

I am so sorry StrawberryBlondie. That is awful.

[penguingrrl]

Ugh, I hate how our country runs medical care. A few years ago my insurance stopped covering the asthma med that I’m stable on. We tried two others, both of which had intolerable side effects, so now I’m paying $55/month when if it were in formulary I would be paying $10 when it’s not my choice.

A family member is on flovent as necessary, so I should check our supplies before this goes into effect…

[StrawberryBlondie]

Also, I know it's not just asthma meds that insurance decides randomly that they're not going to cover that one anymore, but my very anecdotal evidence from my friends and family is that this seems to be more common for meds where certain brands may work or not work for specific people and take some trial and error, and less common for those that are generally well-tolerated.

My husband has never had to switch blood pressure meds, for example, but I'm on my 4th different inhaler in 12 years. One of my friends has to try different anxiety meds every few years.

[gretchenindisguise]

I really hate healthcare in America.

Timing wise this works for us, we were just prescribed flovent and insurance required a pre-authorization for it so doc switched to qvar. It’s what I have used for years so I was actually ok with the switch.

[gretchenindisguise]

We should also @ this title. I assume people will post about the impact to kids and it’s mentioned throughout the article.

[jackie011]

I started taking Flovent after my awful Covid in 2022 and it has been life changing. I’ll have to check my refills to see what I can do before I go back to my doctor in March. My mom has far more severe asthma and has had nothing but trouble with her Medicare + insurance plan. I wonder if this will help or hurt her situation? (I don’t 100% understand, just know there’s a lot of gripes about the “donut hole” and having to pay $$$ OOP on a whim)

Agreed that our country’s approach to health care is abysmal, especially after DH’s cancer experience WITH really good insurance.

[joy]

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Well, this explains why the pediatrician prescribed symbicort this time rather than individual flovent and albuterol inhalers.

[anodyne]

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Thank you for the heads up. I just got off the phone with dd allergy and pulmonary dr and they are switching most patients to Asmanex and it is covered by our insurance.

[tiramisu]

Dec 28, 2023 11:55:37 GMT -5 StrawberryBlondie said:

Also, I know it's not just asthma meds that insurance decides randomly that they're not going to cover that one anymore, but my very anecdotal evidence from my friends and family is that this seems to be more common for meds where certain brands may work or not work for specific people and take some trial and error, and less common for those that are generally well-tolerated.

My husband has never had to switch blood pressure meds, for example, but I'm on my 4th different inhaler in 12 years. One of my friends has to try different anxiety meds every few years.

Yup. Like once one allergy med (Claritin) went OTC, insurance stopped covering all of them. For years I was on allergy meds that didn't work as well and I'm pretty sure that's part of why I had so many sinus infections & ended up needing surgery. Claritin worked the least well for me, so I also always needed Claritin-D.

Now I get to pay whatever Costco wants for my two allergy meds (Allegra & Flonase). The only upside is no longer having to deal with insurance trying to not cover the med that works best. It's all such BS.

[StrawberryBlondie]

Dec 30, 2023 14:09:04 GMT -5 tiramisu said:

Dec 28, 2023 11:55:37 GMT -5 StrawberryBlondie said:

Also, I know it's not just asthma meds that insurance decides randomly that they're not going to cover that one anymore, but my very anecdotal evidence from my friends and family is that this seems to be more common for meds where certain brands may work or not work for specific people and take some trial and error, and less common for those that are generally well-tolerated.

My husband has never had to switch blood pressure meds, for example, but I'm on my 4th different inhaler in 12 years. One of my friends has to try different anxiety meds every few years.

Yup. Like once one allergy med (Claritin) went OTC, insurance stopped covering all of them. For years I was on allergy meds that didn't work as well and I'm pretty sure that's part of why I had so many sinus infections & ended up needing surgery. Claritin worked the least well for me, so I also always needed Claritin-D.

Now I get to pay whatever Costco wants for my two allergy meds (Allegra & Flonase). The only upside is no longer having to deal with insurance trying to not cover the med that works best. It's all such BS.

No lie, I joined Costco for the allergy med savings.

[tiramisu]

Dec 30, 2023 16:08:41 GMT -5 StrawberryBlondie said:

Dec 30, 2023 14:09:04 GMT -5 tiramisu said:

Yup. Like once one allergy med (Claritin) went OTC, insurance stopped covering all of them. For years I was on allergy meds that didn't work as well and I'm pretty sure that's part of why I had so many sinus infections & ended up needing surgery. Claritin worked the least well for me, so I also always needed Claritin-D.

Now I get to pay whatever Costco wants for my two allergy meds (Allegra & Flonase). The only upside is no longer having to deal with insurance trying to not cover the med that works best. It's all such BS.

No lie, I joined Costco for the allergy med savings.

That's the main reason I joined, too. Their pharmacy is also typically much cheaper for veterinary meds, when they can be filled there.

[laurental]

@thank you so much for posting this-- I had not heard about this and my youngest is on it. He has about 14 days left, so we at least have time to change. Both of my boys have asthma and we pay (with insurance!) close to $300/month in meds. We love the fall because by then we hit our insurance max and don't have to pay those months.

[jackie011]

Checking in to see if anyone switched to Arnuity? I’ve been using it for a week and I don’t think I like it compared to Flovent. I see my Dr next month, so I’ll stick with it until then.