I have asthma. My doctor has prescribed albuterol for emergencies, Singulair for allergies, and Advair for daily reduction in symptoms. I'm lucky to have good health and prescription drug coverage.
Last month, it cost $35 to have my monthly prescriptions filled.
This month, it cost $70.
My employer instituted a new prescription drug coverage plan. Advair is now classed as a top-tier drug and it alone costs $40 per month.
I guess it could be worse. If I didn't have prescription coverage Advair would cost over $120 per month.
So I'm embarking on an experiment. I'm taking Advair as rarely as possible instead of the twice daily prescribed.
Yesterday was ok, I was just a little run-down. Today I'm coughing a bit, but nothing extreme. I won't use the albuterol unless I can't stop coughing.
The purpose of Advair is to make it unnecessary for me to use emergency inhalers - preventative medicine to keep emergencies from happening. But right now, it's cheaper to use the albuterol more often and cut back on the Advair.
I can tell when I'm not getting good oxygen flow, even when I'm not coughing or wheezing. My eyes dry out and I feel like I have a fever. I get drowsy. If I start feeling like that, I'll take albuterol.
I'm employed, with a better-than-average benefits package. But I work for a non-profit, so I'm not raking in the bucks salary wise.
I have a medical savings plan, but they don't reimburse until you have receipts totaling $500. So it will be quite a while before I see reimbursement.
Among other financial worries, my heating bill was $290 last month and will likely be higher this month.
I'd like to install an new, energy efficient furnace to replace the 1940s model cranking away in my basement. Hopefully I can take advantage of lower interest rates to get a home equity line of credit and replace the dinosaur this summer, presuming it lasts through the winter.
I'm working. I'm middle class. And I can't afford my medications. I don't like experimenting with my health.
We need an answer.