help me find a doctor for my asthma in oklahoma

June 29, 2009 12:42 PM

i have asthma, i live in oklahoma, and my inhaler just ran out. i have no insurance and my boyfriend makes too much for aid programs - now what?

i moved to oklahoma not to long ago and now it's time for me to get another inhaler. i love in owasso (just north of tulsa) and the only walk in clinic in town is $120 for the visit. i am use to walk in clinics being more like $50. adding to the money woes is the fact that the inhalers have been changed to the non-CFC versions which are far more expensive (use to be $12 per inhaler, the last one i got was $50). i don't work and i have no insurance, but my live in boyfriend claims me on his taxes so my household income is too much for any of the assistance programs i can find.

i wouldn't mind paying $120-200 if i could find a doctor that would give me an inhaler with 6 or so refills, but every clinic i've gone to will just give me the one inhaler and if i really, really beg they'll give me a single refill. i can't seem to get a doctor to understand that this is a chronic condition and i don't have $100 to plunk down every 2 months just so i can keep breathing.

so - any tulsa clinics you can recommend? any programs that can help reduce the price of medications or the doctor's visit? any advice on getting the doctor to give me more than one refill?

posted by nadawi to health & fitness (14 comments total)

Is there a specific brand of inhaler you use? If so, you should google that name along with "prescription assistance" and see if there are any programs the drug company offers. One of my prescriptions used to cost $150 per month, until I got on a program by the manufacturer that offered 12 months free if my doctor filled out a form for me. Unfortunately, it took six weeks for it to kick in, but if you end up going to the doctor this time you can get him to fill out the forms and give you a prescription until the waiting period is over.
posted by Ugh at 12:47 PM on June 29 [1 favorite]

Which clinic did you already try? If you didn't already try it, give Warren Clinic a call.
posted by hilaritas at 1:02 PM on June 29

the allergy specialist at the warren clinic is, according to the receptionist, "over $300 for a new patient", the oklahoma allergy and asthma center out of OKC is "even more than that", and the urgent care of green country is "$105-over 200 - more if any lab tests are done, and we can't tell you if you'll get refills".
posted by nadawi at 1:12 PM on June 29

Have you tried going to a GP that is not associated with an urgent-care or other type of clinic? A friend of mine has asthma, and gets ongoing (1 year) prescriptions for the inhaler from the GP (not an allergy specialist), without lab tests because it's a known, ongoing issue and the correct medicine (the inhaler) has already been identified.
posted by Houstonian at 1:17 PM on June 29

Ugh, your advice may be useful in an abstract, general way, but nadawi's talking about a specific, very common medication used by many to stop asthma attacks (mainly characterized by wheezing and difficulty breathing). This medication was sold under the trade name Ventolin but was also available as a generic (named Albuterol). However, some tool of the drug industry managed to get this medicine banned in the US on environmental grounds, due to the minute amounts of CFC propellant inside the inhaler. (More info in US News and World Report -- Asthma's New Expense - Phaseout of inhaler leaves patients gasping with sticker shock.

The article points out how you're better off switching to a medication which prevents asthma attacks; then you won't need the new and more expensive "non-CFC version." Of course, those medications have problems as well -- very expensive, and some contain steroids (which are banned in Japan). I now use something called Flovent; which I had to switch to because my insurance stopped covering Azmacort. (And I believe these also use CFC propellants.)

But now, my insurance covers nothing until ridiculously high deductibles are met.
> I don't have $100 to plunk down every 2 months just so i can keep breathing.
I don't either; but considering the alternative, that's what I do (and it's every month, in my case).
posted by Rash at 1:20 PM on June 29

In terms of the issue of a doctor, you don't necessarily need to go to the clinic every time you need more refills. You can ask the pharmacy to refill the prescription, and if you're out of refills, they will contact the doctor and ask him/her to authorize additional fills. The doctor may well refuse, and obviously you shouldn't do this if you have concerns or don't think the medicine is working for you, but many doctors will gladly approve refill requests for chronic conditions like this and you won't have to pay a dime. Obviously, you'll still have to pay for the inhaler, but at least you're not plunking down so much at the clinic. Take the prescription box/label into a local pharmacy and see if they can get more refills authorized from whoever prescribed the inhaler last.
posted by zachlipton at 1:22 PM on June 29

My last inhaler came from an urgent care clinic in denton, tx - they make sure there is no confusion, they do not give or approve refills. the clinics i'm calling won't tell me if they'll approve refills. all i can do is pay the 200 bucks and pray. i was hoping for another way.
posted by nadawi at 1:30 PM on June 29

Yeah that sucks. Go see a real GP then like Houstonian says. You may pay a little more, but, assuming you go to a good one, you'll get an actual doctor who cares about your health and who will authorize refills on your prescriptions. Good luck!
posted by zachlipton at 1:46 PM on June 29

I moved out of OKC five years ago, but when I was there, the pulmonologist Stacey Foshee saved my life once when I stopped breathing. She also taught me more about managing my asthma than a lifetime of doctors before her. I no longer have her office information, but a Google search turned up this:

Stacey Lyn Foshee, MD
608 NW 9th Street, Suite 6110
OKC/73102
272-6909

Best of luck!
posted by Katravax at 1:55 PM on June 29

There are prescription discount cards. This one is free and gives you up to 50% off medications not covered under your insurance(or lack there of).

Its not insurance its just a discount card for all generic and none generic prescription drugs ,it only works if you do not have insurance to cover a specific drug,you can get up to 50% off the cash price of any valid prescription.You can even print out your temporary card if you need to use it immediately until they send you the original after all its free. I have used this one, it works.
posted by meeshell at 5:40 PM on June 29

Have you checked out any of the places on this list, or this one? Based on the descriptions, some seem promising.
posted by necessitas at 9:01 PM on June 29

The OSU Medical Center there in Tulsa is fairly well regarded for low-income medical assistance, although they've cut back on some services recently after being bought out. The main clinic number is [phone], and they've also got a physician referral service at [phone] that should be able to help if the main clinic can't.

Luck!
posted by ormondsacker at 10:30 AM on June 30

You know the reason they're not willing to give you lots of refills, right? It's because rescue inhalers (albuterol) are not supposed to be used every day. That's actually a sign of really poor asthma control.

The current thinking is that asthma needs to be controlled two ways: by limiting exposure to allergens and irritants (like pet dander, smoke, etc) and by using a controller medication that has a steroid it in (like Advair, Azmacort, Flovent). And if you smoke, stop!

Some people with asthma that is worsened by allergies find that they have excellent results taking an antihistamine like Claritin (which is available over-the-counter). The allergen no longer bothers them, so they don't have the asthma symptoms, and do not need to have the medication on a regular basis. (One prescription allergy medication, Singulair, seems to work really well at this, as do allergy shots. )

There are some good suggestions here about patient assistance programs and even a referral to a good pulmonologist. Take that advice and take control of your asthma. But don't rely on medication that is only supposed to be used in emergencies to manage your asthma.
posted by FergieBelle at 10:54 AM on June 30

thank you everyone for all the help!

i emailed the oklahoma chapter of the american lung association. i was sent this information.

Morton Comprehensive Health Services sees patients based on "ability-to-pay"...so they offer free and sliding scale services. 918 587-2171

As for perscription assistance:
TogetherRx Access online application
Patient Prescription program - 1-888-477-2669
Rx help in OK, Community Action Agency 1-800-723-9428
PSI 1-800-366-7741
posted by nadawi at 12:19 PM on July 1