SALISBURY TWP., Pa. — A $35 price cap on most inhalers now is in place for people suffering from asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD.
And U.S. Rep. Susan Wild, D-Lehigh Valley, recently stopped at Lehigh Valley Health Network-Cedar Crest to talk about the benefits to patients.
The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America in September called Allentown the worst place to live in the U.S. if you have asthma.
"I was frankly astonished to find out that Allentown came in first, so to speak, in the bad air category,” said Wild, whose district includes Lehigh, Northampton and Carbon counties and part of Monroe County.
Wild has advocated for lower-price prescriptions since she took office.
On Tuesday, she was joined by an asthma patient, a pulmonologist from LVHN, as well as the group Lehigh Valley Breathes to get the word out about the price cap.
“As of the last time that I purchased an inhaler, which is a new one, it's a great new three-for-one inhaler, and it cost me like $230 for one month.”Susan Rego of South Whitehall Township
Many of the people who use inhalers to treat respiratory conditions were paying more than $200 out of pocket every time they needed a new prescription.
“As of the last time that I purchased an inhaler, which is a new one, it's a great new three-for-one inhaler, and it cost me like $230 for one month,” Susan Rego of South Whitehall Township said.
Rego joined Wild as she touted the move to lower the cost.
'It's their only shot at living'
High prices often lead to people rationing their medication or not filling the prescription at all, according to Lehigh Valley Health Network pulmonologist Dr. Matt McCambridge.
"On days like this or really cold winter days, or a day where there's a lot of smoke in the air or something, they won't be bothered if they have these inhalers built up in their system," McCambridge said.
"But if they're not on the inhalers or they're rationing, then they tend to come into the emergency department with wheezing and coughing.”
McCambridge also is the chief quality and patient safety officer for Lehigh Valley Health Network.
"My entire career with inhalers it's been back and forth between me and the patients on whether they can afford them or not," he said.
Starting this month, two major pharmaceutical companies, AstraZeneca and Boehringer Ingelheim, began capping their inhalers at $35 following pressure from lawmakers such as Wild.
"I just can't even imagine not being able to afford your drug when you know it's out there.”Congresswoman Susan Wild, (D) Pennsylvania’s 7th Congressional District
“There's so many medications out there that people, cancer drugs, that people literally want to have access to, they feel like it's their only shot at living," Wild said.
"And I just can't even imagine not being able to afford your drug when you know it's out there.”
The $35-out-of-pocket cap for the inhalers made by AstraZeneca and Boehringer Ingelheim began June 1 for those who are insured, underinsured and underinsured.
Another inhaler maker, GlaxoSmithKline, said it will cap its inhaler price by the new year.
