Cost Of Asthma Care In People Of Color
This article is part of Health Divide: Asthma in People of Color, a destination in our Health Divide series.
Access to healthcare is not equal in the United States, which is true for adults and children living with asthma. Black, Latinx, and Indigenous people bear the highest burden of asthma in the U.S. and higher rates of asthma death. Black communities are at especially high risk due to unequal access to health care, structural racism, and a historic distrust in the health care system.
The cost of asthma medications plays a central role in these disparities. Fortunately, there are resources to reduce these costs, including financial assistance programs and generic versions of approved asthma medications.
This article outlines the costs of asthma care in the United States today, including its effect on productivity and quality of life and why certain communities are disproportionately affected.
Zoe Hansen / Verywell
Who Is Ventolin For
is used in asthma, as a reliever treatment. It is used on-demand to provide relief from symptoms of the condition, such as shortness of breath or wheezing.
It is available as a dry powder inhaler , a metered dose inhaler , a syrup, and as a solution administered via a nebuliser.
All of these treatments are prescription-only medications . This means that a pharmacy cannot provide you with them unless your doctor has completed a prescription for you.
If you have been diagnosed with asthma, your doctor, nurse or asthma specialist will organise an asthma action plan with you. The aim of this is to keep your asthma as well managed as possible. The plan will outline how and when you should take your medication.
In the UK, all asthma patients receive a prescription for reliever medication such as a Ventolin or Salbutamol inhaler. Most asthmatics use a reliever inhaler which is often referred to as a blue inhaler.
Ventolin Accuhaler and Evohaler both fall into this category.
However its important to remember that the colour of inhalers can vary and you should not solely rely on colour to identify the medication you are using.
The Costs Of Allergy Shots
Allergy shots are usually used for building tolerance to pollen, dust, pet dander, and molds. For uninsured patients, an allergy shot will have two major costs: the allergy serum and the administration of the shot. The allergy serum will typically cost around $100, and the preparation/administration costs can range from $20-100 per visit. Since these shots are dosed weekly, the annual cost can range from $1,000 to $4,000 per year. As more time passes, the frequency of your allergy shots will decrease, and your costs will also decrease as a result.
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How Much Does Cat Asthma Treatment Cost What You Need To Know
If your cat has experienced trouble breathing, having a diagnosis of asthma can seem like a stroke of good luck. After all, millions of people live with asthma each day. However, asthma treatment can actually be quite expensive for cats.
With that said, there are a lot of different treatments out there, with some cats needing different treatments than others. Therefore, costs can vary as well.
Below, well take a look at the different treatments and costs associated with them.
How Much Do Allergy Shots Cost Without Insurance In 2022
Allergy shots are a long-term treatment for individuals who have chronic allergies. Allergy shots are a type of immunotherapy that uses your immune system to fight off disease. Most of the time, allergy shots are covered by health insurance, but for uninsured patients, allergy shots can range from $20-$100 per visit.
Before you decide to get allergy shots, consult with your primary care provider for a proper workup and evaluation. For as low as $25 a month, Mira can provide you with in-person and virtual consultations. Additionally, Mira offers affordable laboratory testing and prescription medications. Sign up for Mira today!
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What Are Common Asthma Attack Triggers
An asthma attack happens when someone comes in contact with substances that irritate them. Healthcare providers call these substances triggers. Knowing what triggers your asthma makes it easier to avoid asthma attacks.
For some people, a trigger can bring on an attack right away. Sometimes, an attack may start hours or days later.
Triggers can be different for each person. But some common triggers include:
- Air pollution: Many things outside can cause an asthma attack. Air pollution includes factory emissions, car exhaust, wildfire smoke and more.
- Dust mites: You cant see these bugs, but they are in many homes. If you have a dust mite allergy, they can cause an asthma attack.
- Exercise: For some people, exercising can cause an attack.
- Mold: Damp places can spawn mold. It can cause problems for people with asthma. You dont even have to be allergic to mold to have an attack.
- Pests: Cockroaches, mice and other household pests can cause asthma attacks.
- Pets: Your pets can cause asthma attacks. If youre allergic to pet dander , breathing in the dander can irritate your airways.
- Tobacco smoke: If you or someone in your home smokes, you have a higher risk of developing asthma. The best solution is to quit smoking.
- Strong chemicals or smells.
With asthma, you may not have all of these symptoms. You may have different signs at different times. And symptoms can change between asthma attacks.
How Often Do Cats Need Treatment
It really depends on the cat. Many cats will need continued treatment, while others may only need treatment once. If your cat only needs one injection, then youre looking at about $80 for the whole treatment.
Cats with chronic asthma will need an injection every one to two months. Therefore, your lifetime treatment costs will be quite high.
Oral medication and injections usually cost about the same, depending on when your cat needs either medication.
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Asthma Inhalers Price List
* Prescription drug prices often change. These are the most accurate medication prices at time of publishing.
Alvesco, a corticosteroid inhalant, is the cheapest asthma inhaler on the list at $37 per 1, 6.1 gm of 80 mcg/actuation. Its an anti-inflammatory medication that helps prevent asthma attacks when taken regularly as part of a maintenance plan.
Advair HFA, a combination inhaler that has both corticosteroid and beta2-agonist medicines, is the most expensive asthma inhaler on the list at $545 per 1, 12 gm of 115-21 mcg/actuation. This inhaler is classified as an antiasthma drug, made up of an anti-inflammatory and bronchodilator combination, and is used in the prevention of asthma symptoms when taken regularly.
In general, the cost of short-acting inhalers tends to be cheaper per inhaler than long-acting maintenance inhalers that are designed for everyday use, although this isnt always the case. Despite their high cost, regular usage of a long-acting inhaler can drastically reduce the medical costs associated with asthma, including emergency room visits and hospitalizations.
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Are Allergy Shots Right For You
If you find that you fall into one of the following categories of people, consider speaking with your primary care physician about trying allergy shots.
- Individuals with moderate to severe allergies
- Individuals with severe pet allergies
- Individuals with severe stinging insect allergies
- Individuals who can commit to a long treatment plan
- Individuals who can afford a long treatment plan
- Individuals who do not respond well to oral allergy medications
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What Should I Do To Protect Myself
Get your asthma under control and maintain that control. I cannot stress that enough. That means staying on your usual medications.
At the first onset of respiratory symptoms, asthma patients should follow their individualized asthma action plan and contact their health care provider to see if additional treatments are necessary to prevent symptoms from worsening.
Where Can I Purchase Ventolin
Once you have a prescription for Ventolin you can have it fulfilled at any pharmacy. If you purchase it from a pharmacy with an NHS prescription, you will pay the standard levy. If you are entitled to free treatment on the NHS, you wont have to pay anything.
Private pharmacies also offer Ventolin to buy. Some online pharmacies, such as ours, provide a doctor consultation facility, where you can have your prescription renewed by a doctor, and then dispensed at a UK pharmacy and delivered to you.
When you use online services, you will still be required to answer several questions about your general health. When you order asthma inhalers using our UK service, it is our policy to inform your GP that you are ordering treatment online, so that they are kept up-to-date regarding your asthma care.
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Hesperco A Case Study
Hesperco, for example, is a drug highly dosed with hesperidin to help the immune system fight infections. They brought it over to Canada in partnership with its manufacturer, U.S.-based, Ingenew Pharma.
Heres Reza with a quick explainer:
Hesperdin is a plant-based chemical called a . Found in fruit, vegetables and other food like dark chocolate and wine, bioflavonoids are potent antioxidants. If youre not down on what exactly antioxidants do, they fight oxidative stress, which is caused by an imbalance between molecules called free radicals and antioxidants in the body.
If you want to auger down further, free radicals are oxygen-containing molecules with an uneven number of electrons, and this number lets them react easily with other molecules.These interactions can contribute to anything from heart disease to cancer, and antioxidants not only counteract this, but help your body deal with allergies and viruses. Hesperco is presently in clinical trials to see if it can aid in the fight against COVID-19, sponsored by the Montreal Heart Institute.
This is the kind of product Valeo puts out.
Insurance Coverage And Barriers To Care For People With Asthma
Insurance coverage reduces, but does not eliminate, cost barriers for asthma care.
National estimates show that Americans with asthma are more likely to have health insurance than those without asthma. Among those with asthma, more children had health insurance coverage for the full year than adults. Coverage for children ranged from 89.3% in Arizona to 99.9% in Massachusetts and for adults from 77.8% in Texas to 96.7% in the District of Columbia.
Both children and adults with asthma report cost barriers to health care, including not being able to afford asthma medication, to see a primary care doctor or asthma specialist. More adults aged 18-64 years report cost barriers, compared to children or adults aged 65 + years. For all age categories, the proportion of those reporting cost barriers is higher for those with no or partial year coverage, compared to those with full year coverage.
Percentage with cost barriers, by age and insurance coverage status, among persons with active asthma, Asthma Call-back Survey, 20 Areas, 2006-2010
CDCs Asthma Call-back Survey 2006-2010 20 areas with 5 years of adult and child data. Estimates represent 5 year averages
* Child = Aged 17 years, Adult = Aged 18-64 years
% = Weighted Percent
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Common Affordable Asthma And Copd Medications
Imagine if you had a nickel for every breath you took in a day, youd easily have somewhere around $1k in your pocket by the end of each day. Most people take around 20 thousand breaths per day. And for the fortunate majority they dont really pay too much attention to the fact theyre inhaling and exhaling all day long. If you have asthma or bronchitis, then youll be plenty aware of the fact that sometimes those breaths are a real challenge. Using asthma maintenance inhalers or asthma rescue inhalers is a must, and people without health insurance buying them 100% OOP need affordable asthma medications.
Another scenario where people will have to take note of how rapidly they breathe is when they are scuba diving. For divers, breathing faster means depleting the oxygen supply in the tank more quickly. Divers are taught to slow and regulate their breathing, and many people are surprised to learn how easy it is to learn. Now tie that in with asthma and youll be shocked to learn there are added safety considerations for scuba diving with asthma. Yes, that means that even if you have asthma, you can learn to scuba dive! People who use an asthma maintenance inhaler like the Spiriva inhaler regularly as indicated will have a lessened inflammatory asthma response.
Effect On Quality Of Life
Achieving asthma control is associated with improvements in a person’s quality of life, better work performance, and reduced medical costs. But the reality is that many at-risk populations are unable to achieve these goals, including Black people ages 18 to 29, who tend to have poorer outcomes and lower rates of treatment adherence.
The loss of quality of life can be especially impactful in people with uncontrolled asthma in different ways, including:
- The rigors of coping with acute asthma symptoms
- Limitations on physical activity due to reduced lung capacity and breathing problems
- Limitations on where you can go
- The toll uncontrolled asthma can take on your emotional well-being
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Wondering What Your Prescription Costs Without Insurance
Theres no doubt that the cost of prescription medication without insurance can be expensive. However, there are steps you can take to lower the cost of your prescription medication if you dont have insurance. In fact, you may even be able to save money on your medications if you have insurance. Read on to learn more about saving on prescription costs without insurance, or if you have a high-deductible policy and copay.
How Much Does An Albuterol Inhaler Cost
The average costs for albuterol and the inhaler are anywhere between $35 and $65, without insurance. Also, the price depends on the brand you choose and on the dosage.
For those who are insured and only have to pay coinsurance rates or copay, the price can start at $7 for a generic type and go up to $55 for a brand name.
The price would be the same for a refill as it includes both the inhaler device and the albuterol.
It is often recommended by physicians, that those who suffer from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or severe asthma or children under four years old inhale albuterol through a nebulizer machine. The average cost of a nebulizer is anywhere between $220 and $310 without insurance. There are also pharmacies, hospitals, and urgent care clinics that offer nebulizers for rent at a variable cost.
According to an analysis of national average sales prices conducted by the Office of the Inspector General in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the average cost of generic albuterol nebulizer solutions is around $0.50 for 10 doses, while the price for brand name versions is around $14 for 10 doses.
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What Are The Costs Of Asthma Medications
- The prices of inhaled asthma medicines has grown a lot in the past few years because of the ban on the propellant once used in inhalers. 8
- Since 2009, the cost of inhaled asthma medicines have increase by an average of 50 percent. 8
- In 2014, Medicaid spent about $67 per member each year on asthma medicine, which is the third highest of any category. 9
- The price of asthma medications per member each year has dropped by almost 15 percent in 2014, mostly because the cost per unit has dropped. This has caused asthma to drop to the seventh most costly illness. 9
- 54.9 percent of adults and 78.3 percent of children are not committed to using the medications. 8
References
United States Environmental Protection Agency. Asthma Facts. March 2013.
Barnett S and Numagambetov T. Costs of asthma in the United States: 2002-2007. JACI. 2011. Jan:127:145-152. DOI: .
CDC. National Center for Environmental Health. Asthmas Impact on the Nation: Data from the CDC National Asthma Control Program. 2014.
Wang LY, Zhong Y, Wheeler L. Direct and indirect costs of asthma in school-age children. Prev Chronic Disease. Jan 2005. 2.
Asthma Research
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