Not personal...

     I've been lax in posts again, which I hate. This post is not about flogging myself about that.

     It's not about making excuses, because either ya post or ya don't, pilgrim.

     It's not about being a victim, because I wasn't, for a good many reasons.

     It's simply about an event in my life that pissed me off and I let derail my life quite a bit.


     I present:

AVENGERS

INHALER WAR

you might wonder at my justification for that. it's center. 

     So about three weeks ago, I walked in to Walmart to pick up my Symbicort inhaler, which is paid by insurance and a coupon program except... it wasn't. It was now about $132 out of pocket. In other words... out of affordable range. The change was not in what my insurance was paying, it was that Astra Zeneca decided to change their coupon program suddenly. They changed it from paying all of what insurance doesn't to paying no more than $200. I know it's not personal, it's just business, but because it affects my health, it feels pretty personal to me.

    So go back to the above about not a victim. Still not a victim. While I do think all of these long term inhalers are ridiculously overpriced, Astra Zeneca has the right to change their coupon program in any way they see fit, to boost their profit margin. I have the right to sit back and take it, or to find a way that allows me to buy my medicine and still pay my rent and bills. I also have the right to decide they are profiteering pricks and choose not to do business with them. Screw Symbicort. Sideways.

     So this was a Friday night. I went into the internet researching alternatives over the weekend, and found a possible one called Airduo, which I could get for about $32/mo with a coupon. So I called my doctor, and asked for a prescription change. The pharmacy special ordered the medicing, which is relatively new to the market and...

the coupon didn't cover the strength I was prescribed. the Pharmacy suggested that Advair or Breo were covered by my insurance. 

     So back to the research browser I went. I checked with my insurer, and found that they would cover SOME of the cost of advair or breo. And that Advair had a coupon program that would cover as much as $25!! of what insurance wouldn't! 

    You might be wondering at this point if that made advair a viable solution. Wonder no more. Screw Advair. Sideways. 

     Breo turned out to have a better program, with their manufacturers coupon being a "pay no more than $10" boost to insurance coverage. 

     So today, I took my first dose of Breo Ellipta, It was kind of sweetish. Also for some reason I'm tasting pipe-smoke. For me, today, the inhaler war is finished, and Breo won. hopefully back to toy posts next week.