hifi-health-news: save money on asthma & allergy relief: medication costs, discounts & more

The cost of treating allergies and asthma with an inhaler or other device can be a lot, depending on which condition is being treated. With that in mind, three major asthma inhaler manufacturers Boehringer Ingelheim, AstraZeneca and GSK last year set a $35 price cap on such inhalers for the uninsured and those commercially insured. But members of Medicare and Medicaid need to look elsewhere in order to reduce the cost of the asthma devices. And epinephrine pen users without insurance will have to do that as well or consider using a generic, which is still relatively expensive. The top reason for people to have untreated asthma has been related to the high costs of these medicines, said Melanie Carver, chief mission officer for Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, in 2024 when the caps were set. Lower out-of-pocket costs have the potential to drastically improve asthma health outcomes. One expert suggested that drug inhaler companies still are the best bet to save money. I always suggest [people] go to the manufacturer's website because they have a lot of programs that will take the cost down tremendously, said Rene Matthews, MD, the author and podcast host better known as Dr. Rene. The assistance may come in the form of a discount card or perhaps a grant. Segments of the country are at risk of death if they forgo an inhaler because of cost with the intention of going to the emergency department if a serious asthma attack occurs. I discovered that in the black community, there still are a lot of deaths due to allergies because they don't have what they need, Matthews said. And so relying on getting to the hospital in time is just not a good backup plan, she said. #allergies #asthma #allergyrelief #healthcarecosts #drugprices #prescriptioncosts #healthcareaccess #HiFiHealthNews