Asthma Meds Have Become Shockingly Unaffordable But Relief May Be On The Way

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The price of asthma medication has soared in the U.S. over the past decade and a half. The jump – in some cases from around a little over US$10 to almost $100 for an inhaler – has meant that patients in need of asthma-related products often struggle to buy them. Others simply can’t afford them.

To make matters worse, asthma disproportionately affects lower-income patients. Black, Hispanic and Indigenous communities have the highest asthma rates. They also shoulder the heaviest burden of asthma-related deaths and hospitalizations. Climate change will likely worsen asthma rates and, consequently, these disparities.

I’m a health law professor at Villanova University, where I study whether patients can get the medicines they need. And I’ve been watching this affordability crisis closely…