How Much Does Advair Cost?
Advair, a medication used to treat COPD and asthma by decreasing the inflammation and opening the airways in the lungs, is available by prescription only and no generics are currently available at the time of this publishing.
As one of the most popular prescribed inhalers, it can be quite expensive if you have no health insurance policy.
How much does Advair cost?
The cost of Advair, like any prescription, will depend on your health insurance, dosage and the pharmacy you choose. With a variety of dosage options available, we broke down the costs by calling a few pharmacies in our area to see what they charged those without insurance.
| Dosage | Price (without health insurance) |
|---|---|
| 100mcg/50mcg DISKUS | 60 dose - $385 120 dose - $725 180 dose - $1,100 |
| 250mcg/50mcg DISKUS | 60 dose - $450 120 dose - $900 180 dose - $1,325 |
| 500mcg/50mcg DISKUS | 60 dose - $550 120 dose - $1,100 180 dose - $1,700 |
How did we get these averages? We used the official Costco drug directory and called Walmart, Walgreens, CVS and Sam’s Club and then compiled an average price. Again, these are prices for those without any insurance and could be much less if you were to use your insurance and/or one of the ways to save as mentioned below.
As for health insurance, it does appear that most policies, including Medicare, covers the prescription, with most reported paying anywhere from $25 to $350+. As there are hundreds of policies, it can be hard to offer an exact estimate; for that reasons, we encourage you to either contact your insurance company or see if their official website has a drug directory with prices listed.
How to save on Advair
Manufacturer coupon
The official manufacturer of the drug, GlaxoSmithKline, offers a manufacturer coupon, Advair Savings Offer. To see if you qualify for the savings program, the company simply asks you to fill out the form on the official website, and then, if you qualify, you can take the coupon they offer you and take it to your nearest pharmacy. According to the fine print, the program is only offered to United States residents and anyone enrolled in a government program, such as Medicaid, are not eligible for savings offers.
Patient assistance program
Aside from the official manufacturer coupons, GlaxoSmithKline also offers an assistance program known as GSK for You, which is a program designed to help cover the costs of the medication as long as you meet monthly income requirements. Like the coupon, to see if you qualify, follow this link and fill out the appropriate form to see if you qualify for assistance.
Prescription coupons
Free online prescription coupon websites, such as GoodRX.com, can help you save money, regardless of your situation. These websites are easy to use, only requiring you to find the pharmacy you want to use, along with the dosage prescribed. With this information, you can then print out the coupon and take it into the pharmacy as noted on the website to pay the price quoted. Granted, if you do choose this option, you can only use the website coupon or your private insurance, not a combination of both. Even if you have health insurance, there could be times where you find that the coupons will be much cheaper, so it doesn’t hurt to see what you could potentially save in comparison to your health insurance policy quote.
Longer supply
As seen inside of our table above, a longer supply can often save you as much as 20%. If you know you will need this prescription for longer than 30 days, then you may want to ask your doctor if he or she can prescribe a longer supply.
Check with your health insurance company
Call your insurance company to know which inhaler they recommend and which one could save you the most. While a majority of the health insurance plans on the market cover Advair, you may be able to save more with an alternative inhaler. However, do keep in mind that while there are comparable inhalers with similar active ingredients to that of Advair, most will cost the same, with the exception of some generics.
Is there a generic of Advair available?
As of February 8th, 2018, the release of Advair’s generic was postponed, even though the FDA accepted Sandoz’s application. According to the manufacturer of the generic drug, owned by Novartis, they had said the FDA was asking for more data on the substitute, making it the third Advair generic to be denied by the FDA, as per Tori Marsh at GoodRX.com. As of this publishing, a generic could be coming soon; however, there were no timelines when we researched online as the manufacturers have to work with the FDA before it’s approved and sent to the market. Right now, unfortunately, no generic is available, but one could come in the future, maybe in 2019 or 2020.
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