If you have health insurance coverage, your medicines are most likely covered under a separate pharmacy benefit. The benefit lists prescription drugs, both generic and brand names, that it will cover in a list known as a formulary.
Two prescription benefit managers are dropping certain asthma and allergy drugs from their formularies in 2017. If you take these medicines and have your prescriptions covered by CVS Caremark or Express Scripts, other medicines will be substituted instead.
This chart covers changes from CVS Caremark:
Ventolin HFA
Xopenex HFA
ProAir RespiClick
Alvesco
Flovent
Pulmicort Flexhaler
Qvar
Breo
Ellipta Flexhaler
Dulera
Omnaris
Qnasl
Rhinocort Aqua
Veramyst
Zetonna
fluticasone spray
triamcinolone spray
Dymista
cromolyn sodium
olopatadine
Pataday
Pazeo
This chart covers changes for Express Scripts:
Xopenex HFA
ProAir RespiClick
Ventolin HFA
Asmanex HFA
Asmanex Twisthaler
Flovent Diskus
Flovent HFA
Pulmicort Flexhaler
Qvar
Omnaris
Veramyst
Zetonna
flunisolide spray
fluticasone spray
mometasone
Qnasl
If you have trouble paying for your allergy and asthma medicine, see What to Do If You Can't Afford Your Asthma Medicines. For some people, one option might be to switch to an insurance plan with a pharmacy plan you prefer.
Open enrollment deadlines start coming up soon. If you are buying insurance on the federal Health Insurance Marketplace, stay up-to-date with enrollment deadlines.
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