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Access to Medications

​People with asthma and food allergies need access to affordable health insurance and to the medications and devices they need at affordable prices. 

Individuals and families managing food allergies must often bear a heavy and rising cost burden for epinephrine auto-injectors (EAIs).1  Similarly, people with asthma face large financial barriers to certain drugs.  In AAFA’s “My Life with Asthma” report, only one in four respondents always used their asthma treatments as prescribed. The top three reported reasons for not using treatments were related to cost: inability to afford treatment, treatment was too expensive, and lack of insurance coverage for the treatment.2  High out-of-pocket costs hinder adherence, threaten the health of patients, and exacerbate disparities in health status.

AAFA supports policies that reduce the cost burden of drugs for patients. AAFA supports:

  • Increased price transparency from drug manufacturers and pharmacy benefit managers
  • In analyses of the cost-effectiveness of drugs, the inclusion of data on patient experience, including quality of life, social impact, and caregiver impact.
References

1. Pepper et al., “The High Cost of Epinephrine Autoinjectors and Possible Alternatives.” J Allergy Clin Immunol Pract. 2017 May – Jun;5(3):665-668.

2. Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, “My Life With Asthma:  Survey Overview (2017). 14.