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Article: Claritin users lose co-pay advantage
- Article from:
- Charleston Gazette
- Article date:
- December 20, 2002
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2002 Charleston Gazette. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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joydavia@wvgazette.com
Dr. Chandra Kumar's patients no longer need a prescription to buy
the allergy medication Claritin.
But most of Kumar's patients have found themselves in another
bind: Claritin's move to a shelf next to the cough syrup and Sudafed
means no more $10 co-pays for a three-month supply.
Insurers cover prescriptions, not over-the-counter medications. So
Kumar, the Asthma & Allergy Center's medical director, switched
patients' medications to Clarinex, a prescription drug covered by
insurers. That way, patients won't have to pay up to $40 a month for
Claritin.
"We hope morally and legally that's right," Kumar said Thursday.
Claritin's switch from a prescription drug to an ...