(COPD) and asthma in people ages 6 and older. Symbicort is a maintenance inhaler. This means it is a long-term medication taken every day to help keep the airways of the lungs open by reducing inflammation. Symbicort is not a rescue inhaler and cannot resolve acute asthma symptoms.

Symbicort works by combining an anti-inflammatory (budesonide) to help reduce inflammation in the lungs with a bronchodilator (formoterol) to help relax huge muscles around the lungs. The dosage for this medication is as follows:

For asthma in patients 6 to 12:

Two inhalations of 80/4.5 mg twice daily

For asthma in patients 12 and older:

Two inhalations of 80/4.5 mg twice daily or

Two inhalations of 160/4.5 mg twice daily

For COPD:

Two inhalations of 160/4.5 mg twice daily

There are several alternatives to Symbicort, though many of them are specifically for asthma or COPD and may not treat both.

The following treat both asthma and COPD:

Advair (fluticasone/salmeterol)

Breo (fluticasone/vilanterol)

Dulera (formoterol/mometasone)

To treat asthma, these are some of the medicines that could be prescribed:

Flovent (Fluticasone)

Pulmicort (budesonide)

For COPD treatment:

Perforomist (formoterol)

Spiriva (tiotropium bromide)

Atrovent (ipratropium)

Trelegy Ellipta (fluticasone/umeclidinium/vilanterol)

We do not offer coupons but would still like to let patients know how a Symbicort coupon works. There are many Symbicort coupons on the internet, which is where a lot of people turn after learning the cost of this medicine. Sometimes, the coupon savings are still not enough for a patient to be able to get their medicine.

Even though Symbicort coupons help save money, patients still have to pay a large out of pocket cost.

Prescription drug coupons have other names they are called such as: Copay cards, copay coupons, copay assistance programs, and pharmacy coupons.

Prescription drug coupons generally represent a program that has been funded by the pharmaceutical company that will assist people in lowering their out-of-pocket drug costs for medications. While this sounds helpful, these coupons can have drawbacks such as the following:

Coupons are usually only for a certain time frame. Coupons may help people get started on their medication at a significantly lower price; however, the savings do not continue from month to month to keep the price low.

Some coupons only cover the first month of a prescription but they fail to cover subsequent months.

Patients will need to leave the comfort of their home to go to the Pharmacy to pick up medication and present the coupon to the pharmacist in order to obtain the savings.

These are cards that offer lower drug costs for a patient’s medications. These cards are the most advantageous for people who pay with cash. They are free and are available to anyone whether they have health insurance or not.

There are a number of savings programs that negotiate their discounts on medications like Symbicort. Many patients have access to lower prices through their prescription discount cards.

Copay assistance programs, also known as copay coupons, are available to help a patient who has insurance make up for the cost of a copay of their prescriptions. These programs are not for those people who have to pay for medications out-of-pocket.

Oftentimes, brand name medications will offer a copay assistance program as an incentive for patients to choose them as opposed to the generic version of the medicine. Here is an example of this:

A patient has a choice between a $1,000 brand-name medication or a $100 generic medication. Under their insurance plan, their copay would be $20 regardless of which one they choose. However, with a copay assistance program, the pharmaceutical company makes a lot more money on the brand name drug. They have made it more attractive to the patient by covering their copay and their insurance company still must pay the outstanding balance of $980 for the medication.