Is there a generic form you can get prescribed? Ask your pharmacist. They usually have great suggestions.

i'm pretty sure there's no generic. i used to take Advair and the packaging is so specialized i doubt it would ever go generic, they'd never make $$ on that because of the delivery system/packaging. try going to the manufacturer to appeal for help if they have a program like that. ~ liz

You can also contact the company. Many do have help avaiable.

Someone at the diabetes board posted this site, I know nothing about it but it may be worth a read.

Here is a link that might be useful: Free Meds

It probably hasn't been out long enough for there to be a generic - there is a period of exclusivity for the drug company that developed a drug when no other company can produce a generic. My insurance company has a $75 mail order copay on any and all brand name drugs- up this year from $60. Retail-the copay is a % of the price

This link has some information about patient assistance from Astrazeneca that might help

Here is a link that might be useful: pt. assistance

I just saw the pulmonologist and he prescribed Dulera to replace Advair. He gave me a sample and in the box was a card to activate good for 12 prescriptions with a savings on copayments over $25 up to $75 each time.
I wonder if your doc has any samples with the card in it. It has worked very well for me.
It is worth talking to your doc about changing.
There is a phone number on the card I have so if you would like it, e-mail me and I will send you the phone number.
The manufacturer is Merck.
So far I can get a three months supply for $40.
Good luck.

I too use Advair my doc always has lots of samples and loads me up with a bag full each time I need it, plus on several of my meds he has those cards from the manufacturer that guarantee you a much lower co-pay, usually under $25.
Coupons & Special Offers
print your coupon
Coupons & Special Offers
note one is for copd one for asthma just print the coupons and then sign up for them to send them to you each month or you can print a new one each month.
Also always ask at the pharmacy if they have any coupons many times the big chain ones do but you have to ask for them.

Go to www.Advair.com and select the Coupons & Special Offers tab in order to save money on asthma medication.
Sign up for the Breathe Easier program which will allow you to either print a coupon or receive one via mail for one free Advair inhaler. The Breathe Easier program does require registration, however, all they ask for is a residential and email address. Follow the instructions that come with the Advair coupon in order to redeem it for free Advair.

Print the $10 Advair coupon that is available without registration to use each month. This Advair coupon is for the 100/50 Advair dosage. Use Advair coupon at your local pharmacy.

Ask your doctor for the $25 dollar coupons you can get signed up for those and get them each month sometimes too.

for other medication coupons check out this site
Internet Drug Coupons

But, don't you know, Social Security said there was no inflation. (facetiously)
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I'm wondering if Advair will go generic. My wife uses it and I know she is going to have to switch when her supply runs out.
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Quotes from the link below:

"Advair
Generic Name: fluticasone and salmeterol (floo TIK a sone, sal ME te rol)
Brand Names: Advair Diskus, Advair HFA"

"Advair contains fluticasone and salmeterol. Fluticasone is a steroid. Advair prevents the release of substances in the body that cause inflammation. Salmeterol is a bronchodilator. It works by relaxing muscles in the airways to improve breathing.

Advair is used to prevent asthma attacks. It is also used to prevent flare-ups or worsening of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) associated with chronic bronchitis and/or emphysema.

Advair may also be used for other purposes not listed in this medication guide."

Here is a link that might be useful: Advair

A quote from the link below:

"Its US patent expires in 2010 and European patent in 2013. It is also manufactured and marketed by Cipla under trade name Seroflo."

Here is a link that might be useful: Fluticasone/salmeterol

Glaxo Smith Kline has protected its patent on Advair for a very long time. When I first started using this in 2001 there was a much cheaper alternative. You could buy the two main ingredients (fluticasone and salmeterol) separately and inhale them in sequence. I don't think it was coincidence that soon eliminated those from production.

I expect to be long gone before there is a generic for Advair. Retail on a 30-day supply is $200, and the company has a mile deep pool of patent lawyers. They are also pushing it like mad. I never get a prescription for anything when there isn't an insert in the bag, touting Advair.

sixty,my one is 800 a month.

My husband gets his very expensive eye drops from Canada for 1/3 of what they are here, a very great savings. Check out this link.

Here is a link that might be useful: canadian pharmacy

Thanks for all the great replies and info. I have asthma, brought on by acid reflux, according to my doctor. All I know is I suffered from breathlessness for years and after being on Advair for the last six, I feel so much better. And I'm a person who will avoid medications whenever I can!

There is no generic for Advair. But, I have health insurance and prescription benefits through my pension (State pension); When I called them seeking a generic they would cover, the lady was surprised that I didn't take advantage of their mailing program. Express Scripts offers a 90 day (3 months worth) supply for $75 - that's $25 a month compared to $60 a month at the pharmacy! The $80 quoted by the pharmacy was wrong - unless they have a $20 markup?

Anyway, makes much more sense to get the 90-Day through the mail. I've never participated in the program so I hope it goes smoothly, i.e. re-ordering on time, ect. Like I said, I dislike doctors and medications; but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.

I use the mail-in pharmacy that is connected to my BC/BS for my Advair. My copayment did go up this year, but its very easy to use a mail in pharmacy. Its a lot cheaper han buying at the drug store and comes right to your home within a few days after emailing in your next refill.

ANY 90-day fill should be cheaper than month-by-month. Check with your local pharmacy to see what their price would be on a 90-day fill before starting the mail procedure.

I would save only $11 a year using mail instead of a local pharmacy -- but the retail pricing differs. If I use the local pharmacy I reach the Medicare Plan D 'donut hole' faster because their retail cost for Advair is greater. It's the total retail cost that counts towards the 'hole' (a combination of what you pay and what the insurance pays).

Mail order works OK for a maintenance drug, but not well for anything else. You mail in your MD's prescription for one 90-day supply, with three refills. You just call the mail pharmacy to request the refills.

My MD and his whole office of MD's refuse to phone or fax in prescriptions to Medco because they experienced too many errors. That means he must mail me a prescription, then I must mail it in. So, three to five days for me to get the prescription, another three to five for them to get it, and another five to ten for me to get the goods.

Obviously, mail order doesn't work for an antibiotic -- or any prescription where the doseage changes. I feel I should support the local pharmacy that can provide what I need when I need it, even if it costs me a little more to buy my maintenance drug from them.

OT: If anyone reading here takes a pill that comes in a higher dose, check to see if you can save by buying the higher dose and cutting it up. This doesn't work for capsules, but you can almost always cut a tablet in halves or even quarters with a pill-cutter. Drug pricing may also vary by quantity. Ask your pharmacist what your prescription costs if you buy a different number than your MD has initially prescribed. Figure out the cost per dose. If you can save by either of these means, you'd then have to ask your MD to agree to change the prescription.

Example: I use a sleep aid, generic Ambien 5 mg. I can buy 10 mg. and cut them in half more cheaply. My MD is fine with prescribing 10 mg.

Example: My DH was prescribed two 30 mg. capsules of a drug. Turns out one 60 mg. costs about a third less. You have to ASK the pharmacist and your MD. They aren't going to tell you if you don't ask. They aren't being mean, they just don't think about it!

I totally agree about supporting local pharmacies, one of the oldest in the nearby city where I used to get my meds closed after nearly 100yrs. I think. Come to think of it, several years before that, another one of the oldest family owned pharmacies downtown closed too.

I also take Prilosec OTC, a water pill and a blood pressure med; for now I'll continue to get those at CVS, they are pretty reasonable, $5 - $15 ea. If the mail-in works out reasonably well, I just may get all my meds that way. We'll see.

I've also heard about the mix-ups that can occur that was the main reason I never did it before. Interesting fact about the possibility that the pharmacy could offer a better rate on a 90-day. Thanks chisue.

I did the mail order 90 day with three refills for quite a while for my maintenance drugs. Then, problems cropped up when the plan changed pharmacies a couple or three times - sometimes honoring existing Rx refills, sometimes not. Always one to avoid any appearance of impropriety, I hated calling my doctor to write me new scrips. (Like I was stockpiling meds or something.) Annoying, but no problem.

The last straw was the latest pharmacy change - they couldn't fathom the reality that 225 pills divided by 2 and 1/2 = 90. (Pill is scored and I take two pills in the AM and 1/2 pill in the PM per orders right on the Rx.) I'd get the original fill and one refill with the pharmacy telling me the numbers weren't sufficient for refills three and four.

Luckily, my routine drs. appt. came up before I totally ran out of this particular med - the one that keeps me upright. Took the new Rx's down to the pharmacy in my dr's building - they do the 90 day and three refills and the co pays were exactly the same as mail order. Now it'll be a phone call and a quick trip downtown for refills - any problem and my doctor is 5 floors up. And I, too, like to support local businesses.

The mail order was convenient - especially with the on-line accounts with your cc on file etc. But if there's a problem, they don't straighten it out - the excuse to me was "we deal with thousands of Rx's. Call your doctor because we can't do anything, sorry."

When the mail order works, it works well; when it doesn't...