CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — A popular asthma medication is no longer being made as of this year, and that's causing a lot of headaches for asthmatics in the Chattanooga area.
That drug is the branded asthma inhaler "Flovent."
Its original manufacturer, GSK, is now selling an identical, non-branded version instead, because it lost the patent on Flovent.
But despite the fact that it's essentially the same product, the generic version is currently not covered as widely by insurance.
People we spoke with on Wednesday told us it's like a game of telephone between the pharmacy, the patient, and the provider.
Dr. Marc Cromie, an allergist at the Chattanooga Allergy Clinic, says while GSK's generic may be designed to save the company money in the long run, pharmacies and insurance carriers haven't caught up yet.
The patients aren't able to get the Flovent now because the pharmacies are not getting the generics, or the insurance companies are not covering the generics yet,' Cromie said.
This switch is hitting low-income families with TennCare the hardest, according to community advocate Sara Scott.
You need maybe a prior authorization, which involves more communication of your provider and that insurer, it's taking up their time, and costs money, you know, that isn't free, and they aren't able to bill for that sort of time to insurers or Medicaid.
But Scott points out this is hard to do for a patient whose primary goal is to breathe easy, and get the life-saving medication where they need it.
Something like this can really really change your functionality or your even your life trajectory, you know whether or not you're going to survive well with your asthma.
Dr. Cromie says he thinks insurance companies will eventually change what they cover.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says 558,276 people, or just over 10 percent of the population, have been diagnosed with asthma in Tennessee.
Depend on us to keep you posted.
