January 1st Change in Proventil^® HFA Formulary Status

We want to alert you to a change in the status of Proventil® HFA on the RegenceRx Formulary/Preferred Medication  List.

• Starting January 1, 2010 Proventil HFA will be a non-preferred medication.  This means that members may have to pay a higher non-preferred copayment.

• To give Regence members time to talk to their doctors about this change, we are covering Proventil HFA at the preferred copayment rate until December 31, 2009. After that date, Proventil HFA will continue to be covered, but at the higher non-preferred copayment level.

What you can do to prevent paying a higher copayment after December 31, 2009:

• Talk to your doctor about other preferred options to decide which medication is right for you.  Our preferred alternatives are ProAir^® HFA and Ventolin^® HFA which both contain albuterol sulfate, the same active ingredient as Proventil HFA. Ventolin HFA inhalers also have a built in dose counter so you always know how many puffs you have left.

We make changes to the Preferred Medication List based on scientific evidence and a medication’s value compared to other medications. 

If you have questions or need additional information, please call Pharmacy Customer Service at 1-800-643-5918.