Biden, Sanders to take victory lap after drugmakers cap cost of inhalers

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: The Hill

04/03/24 6:06 AM ET


President Biden on Wednesday will tout Democrats’ efforts to lower the cost of inhalers after drugmakers announced plans to cap prices.

The president, alongside Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), will give remarks at the White House to highlight the crackdown on the cost of inhalers. They will also be joined by health care advocates and experts, according to a White House official.

After the administration’s crackdown, which included scrutiny for anticompetitive practices that can delay lower-cost generics from coming to market, three of the four largest inhaler manufacturers announced in March that they would cap the cost of inhalers for many patients at $35 per month.

The announcements also came after Sanders earlier this year led a letter from a group of Senate Democrats to the CEOs of the four biggest manufacturers of inhalers sold in the United States — AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim (BI), GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Teva — demanding information and documents on the costs involved in the manufacturing of inhalers, among other issues.

Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/4571261-biden-sanders-to-take-victory-lap-after-drugmakers-cap-cost-of-inhalers/

[mopinko]

1. my medigap took this out of their formulary.

united healthcare, the aarp medigap, wont cover flovent, a top selling drug. current retail is $270. goodrx gets it down to $150. same active ingredient is available as a nasal spray, and a generic. it’s more volume, w a slightly less fancy container. it’s $20. it’s a generic drug that i shd b paying a $10 or less co-pay.
they’re happy to pay for trelegy, which is the same drug in a powder inhaler, which i hate. that goes for $800, w a $50 co-pay.

i have no doubt that this is a reaction to this move. i dont know how long this will take, but i hope they hurry up.

[PatSeg]

2. I can remember years ago when Flovent retailed

for around $75. Over the years it kept going up even though the inhaler hadn't changed until it was close to $300. I did find it much cheaper through an online Canadian company a few years ago. The current price is outrageous.

I hate the powder inhalers as well. I often have a really bad reaction to them and it isn't just the outrageous cost.

[mopinko]

5. the tech just isnt there. the particles r too big.

most end up on your tongue. and i’ve had several that didnt last the whole 30 days. my doc said she’d heard that before.
yeah, i had no rx insurance for a yr, accidently. i was paying $250 for flovent, and $150 for albuteral. which u shouldnt even need a bloody rx for. you can still get primatine, tho. which IS dangerous. and abusable. i’ve seen in behind the pharmacy counter. it’s otc, about $30. that’s the 1st thing i used before i saw a doc. it was $20 then. in 1990.

[PatSeg]

8. I had a very violent reaction to more than one

of the powder inhalers. One time it was in the hospital. After having tried numerous different ones, I finally gave up and said "no" whenever doctors tried to prescribe them to me. One of them cost $500 a month and came with numerous side effects. It would have been healthier to throw the money down the toilet. I couldn't afford the $500 a month, so I had to go shopping overseas for it. After I realized the inhaler was the cause of some of my side effects, it ended up in the garbage.

I agree that after all these years, albuterol inhalers should be OTC, especially considering how easy Primatene is to buy. I've bought it from Amazon and I keep a few around the house in case I run out of my regular inhaler. It is scary how hard they make it to stay alive sometimes.

[karynnj]

11. I am confused, wouldn't part D, the medicare drug plan cover this?

I think medigap covers exactly what traditional Medicare does. Dependent on the letter of the plan, they pay some or all of the part not paid by Medicare.

[mopinko]

12. yeah, i have to figure it out.

the medigap is the claims processor. not sure if i can go straight to medicare.

[karynnj]

13. Are you sure you have traditional medicare with a part d drug plan and a medigap plan?

It sounds like you might have a Medicare advantage plan that includes the drug plan.

With traditional Medicare and medigap, you provide providers with your Medicare and medigap info. They submit bills to Medicare, which then sends their information on billing so the Medigap plan can pay its part. For my husband and I it has worked seamlessly and both the UVM hospital and providers do not bill us until this process finishes.

Drugs are covered by the plan d drug plan. This works just like any pre Medicare drug plan.

[KS Toronado]

3. Wonder if FQX will air the announcement live?

Any way to find out what time it'll air?

[BumRushDaShow]

4. Haven't seen a time yet

but these tend to happen in the afternoon - usually between 1 pm - 4 pm ET.

(have been hunting around for a start time)

[4lbs]

6. My father's "inhalers" (read multiple) were through his MediCare Senior Advantage plan that ended up being his

primary HC, with Kaiser Permanente being his secondary/backup.

Now it is called simply MediCare Advantage, Part C, or something like that.

Looking at the box an inhaler came in currently, it says "Albuterol Sulfate Inhalation Aerosol HFA" 90mcg (per puff) with dose indicator.

The note on the box reads "two puffs per day. 60 day supply." That means like 120 puffs per inhaler. I believe it also reads "Can use up to 8 puffs per day as needed. For more daily puffs, consult your physician."

I think he paid at most $10 each for them, and was allowed two per month (refills were set at 99) at that low co-pay price. Extras were $50 each for the month and required physician approval first.

He used to have a powder inhaler, from Advair, or something like that, but he quit it after a month, saying the powder was awful and didn't really work for him. Plus, it seemed to be more expensive in general than the albuterol which worked just fine for him.

[mopinko]

9. the article doesnt name the drugs, but others i've seen mention flovent, which is a preventative.

i havent seen them mention albuterol, which is a rescue inhaler. tho i assumed it wd b included. most ppl use both.
i used advair too. i wonder if they work for anyone.

[SWBTATTReg]

10. I like the albuterol the best. But the expense was something else, but perhaps too, the generic

Walgreen's inhalers such as Primatene Mist will go down in price too.

[progressoid]

7. This will help my Dad!

[electric_blue68]

14. Good luck to everyone! (my mom was a severe asthmatic who eventually became milder most of the time) Albuterol...

definitely sounds familiar.