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As a food allergy family, we stay in-the-know about the availability of epinephrine pens for emergency use in case A.J. goes into anaphylaxis from a food allergy reaction. You may recall the EpiPen price skyrocketed back in 2016 to as much as $1,000 per prescription and its CEO’s salary reflected that. I did several interviews with CBS and One America News to share my outrage as an allergy mom. Then – just in time for back to school in 2018, the EpiPen producers suffered a manufacturing delay which kept allergy sufferers from filling prescriptions. A bad situation found a way to get even worse!
Competitor kaléo pharmaceutical wants to help allergy families stay safe without going broke. It provides the no cost AUVI-Q auto-injector for most families, even with medical insurance and high deductibles. Thanks to a new partnership with Walgreens, AUVI-Q users can fill their prescription at pharmacies nation-wide instead of waiting for a mail order delivery.
“Thanks to this collaboration with Walgreens, any patient who is having difficulty filling a prescription for an epinephrine auto-injector now has the opportunity to get AUVI-Q through Walgreens,” said Phil Rackliffe, general manager of Allergy and Pediatrics at kaléo. “We are working with insurance providers to maximize coverage of AUVI-Q for as many patients as possible.”
In case you don’t know, AUVI-Q is about the size of a digital camera and can fit in your pocket. It also has verbal commands to tell users how to administer it in an emergency.
FAQ’S ABOUT NO COST AUVI-Q
How do you fill an AUVI-Q prescription?
Take an EpiPen or AUVI-Q prescription to a Walgreens Pharmacy.
Visit the AUVI-Q website to fulfill the mail-order prescription. It will be mailed to your home or your doctor’s office.
How does AUVI-Q work?
The AUVI-Q® 0.15 mg and 0.3 mg auto-injector deliver life-saving epinephrine to patients who have allergies. Follow the recorded verbal directions to administer it to the patient’s thigh. The needle inside the AUVI-Q automatically retracts.
How much does AUVI-Q cost?
“AUVI-Q will be $0 out-of-pocket for commercially-insured patients and those eligible for kaléo’s patient assistance program.
Even patients without insurance qualify for patient assistance and zero out-of-pocket expenses for the AUVI-Q.
Click to Tweet: Allergy Families: No-Cost/Low-Cost AUVI-Q Injector Now Available at Walgreens via @MommyTalkShow
These are so awesome and definitely needed. I have friends with kids that have allergies and could definitely use this.
This is so important. Will share with friends who have specific and acute allergy needs.
Wow, I’m going to have to look into this! That Epipen mess is just too much!
I am glad there is an alternative product on the market. Auvi-q is doing the right thing by partnering with Walgreens. Families should have to worry about if they can afford a medicine that will literally save a loved one’s life.
I need to get one of these for my son. First off the fact that it is free is major. However I also like the size, this is a better size for my son to keep with him. Thanks for sharing the knowledge I had no idea.
Free is always good especially for those who may need the medication and can’t afford it. Glad that you have been an advocate for this cause, Keep up the good work
Good information. If I ever hear of someone needing such I will pass along. With the cost of prescriptions this is also great being free.
How great that they make these more accessible to those suffering from serious allergies. It’s important to have affordable alternatives too.
I know a few people that could probably use this. Thank you for sharing.
That’s so good that the Auvi-Q is available, far more affordable, and seems to be way more convenient size and instruction wise. Also Kudos to Walgreens for partnering with them!