Medicare Part D spending · FDA facts · help paying
Ventolin HFA (albuterol sulfate): what Medicare Part D spends and the dated federal facts we hold
CMS's Medicare Part D spending dataset reports gross spending on Ventolin HFA of $152.86 million in 2024, across 2,272,575 claims and 850,779 beneficiaries. The FDA's enforcement reports name this drug's packages in 5 recall entries.
Medicare Part D spending
CMS's Medicare Part D spending dataset reports gross spending on Ventolin HFA of $152.86 million in 2024, across 2,272,575 claims and 850,779 beneficiaries. CMS's dataset states spending is gross drug cost and does not reflect manufacturers' rebates or other price concessions. Spending is the total paid by Medicare, plans and beneficiaries for the drug's claims, not what a patient pays.
| Year | Gross spending | Claims | Beneficiaries | Average spending per claim |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $152.86 million | 2,272,575 | 850,779 | $67.26 |
| 2023 | $192.50 million | 2,628,723 | 956,475 | $73.23 |
| 2022 | $170.32 million | 2,298,057 | 837,267 | $74.12 |
| 2021 | $195.53 million | 2,745,417 | 974,374 | $71.22 |
| 2020 | $314.33 million | 4,649,329 | 1,693,314 | $67.61 |
Source: CMS Medicare Part D spending by drug (data-year-2024, modified 2026-06-25), read November 7, 2026. CMS dataset page. All manufacturers combined; the figures are a drug-level aggregate of claims and say nothing about a formulary or coverage.
Medicaid use by state
CMS's State Drug Utilization Data records, for 2025, how many prescriptions each state's Medicaid program paid for under this drug's packages and what it reimbursed. The 3 states with the largest reimbursement are shown. Reimbursement is before the rebates manufacturers pay states, so it is not a net cost and not a price a patient pays.
| State | Medicaid-paid prescriptions | Medicaid reimbursed | Covers |
|---|---|---|---|
| ME | 103 | $3,155 | All record types |
| SC | 123 | $3,009 | Fee-for-service only |
| MS | 90 | $2,274 | Fee-for-service only |
Where the publisher suppresses small managed-care cells, a state's figure covers fee-for-service claims only and understates use (2 state and package figures are marked that way here). A state missing from the table means its figures were suppressed or not reported, not zero use. 137 older-year figures are held and left out of the table.
Source: CMS State Drug Utilization Data (State Drug Utilization Data 2025, modified 2026-07-13T15:28:32Z), read November 7, 2026. CMS dataset page. State-reported data compiled by CMS; aggregate by state and package, no provider or patient data.
Medicaid spending
CMS's Medicaid spending dataset reports $326.40 million for Ventolin HFA in 2024. CMS's dataset states spending includes Federal and State reimbursement and dispensing fees and is not reduced by Medicaid rebates paid to the states. Spending is what Medicaid paid, not what a patient pays.
| Year | Spending | Claims |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $326.40 million | 4,966,581 |
| 2023 | $355.01 million | 5,430,308 |
| 2022 | $150.48 million | 2,388,041 |
| 2021 | $42.51 million | 684,359 |
| 2020 | $38.65 million | 733,623 |
Source: CMS Medicaid spending by drug (data-year-2024, modified 2026-06-25), read November 7, 2026. CMS dataset page. A national drug-level aggregate; it says nothing about any state's coverage rules.
Federal formulary status
TRICARE
The Defense Health Agency's TRICARE formulary files include 7 packages of Ventolin HFA in the uniform formulary class PULMONARY-1 AGENTS. Each row counts packages by the list that names them and the status it gives. A status is a TRICARE listing, not a statement about what a plan will pay for you.
| List | Status | Packages |
|---|---|---|
| Non-Formulary Drug List | NON-FORMULARY | 7 |
| Tier 4 / Not Covered Drug List | NOT COVERED | 7 |
Source: TRICARE formulary files (tricare-formulary-2026-10), read November 7, 2026. TRICARE formulary page.
Where help paying exists
No program in our finder currently lists this drug as open to new patients.
Label changes
The FDA file lists no non-manufacturing label change for these applications since November 11, 2025. The most recent one it lists is dated August 18, 2021 (Labeling).
Source: FDA Drugs@FDA data file, read November 7, 2026. Dates are the FDA action dates; the documents are on FDA's own site. FDA data file. All recent changes across these drugs: label changes feed.
Safety notices
FDA enforcement report entries that name a package of Ventolin HFA by its NDC: 5 entries, newest first. FDA assigns each a class by health risk: Class I is the most serious and Class III the least. An entry records what the recalling firm reported and FDA classified; it is not advice about any package you hold.
| Reported | Class | Status | Recalling firm | Reason (shortened) | Packages named |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 3, 2024D-0162-2024 | Class II | Terminated | CARDINAL HEALTHCARE | CGMP Deviations: Products were exposed to temperatures outside of the products labeled storage conditions. | 1 |
| May 31, 2017D-0793-2017 | Class II | Ongoing | GlaxoSmithKline, LLC | Defective Delivery System: Elevated number of units with out of specification results for leak rate | 2 |
| April 12, 2017D-0626-2017 | Class II | Ongoing | GlaxoSmithKline, LLC | Defective Delivery System: Elevated number of units with out of specification results for leak rate. | 2 |
| December 16, 2015D-0519-2016 | Class II | Terminated | GlaxoSmithKline, LLC | Defective Delivery System: Some canisters may not contain sufficient propellant to deliver the labeled claim of 200 actuations through the end of shelf life. | 2 |
| September 5, 2012D-1666-2012 | Class II | Terminated | GlaxoSmithKline Inc | Does Not Deliver Proper Metered Dose: Potential content of albuterol per dose is below specification. | 2 |
Source: openFDA drug enforcement reports, file read November 7, 2026. openFDA data file. All recent recalls across these drugs: drug recalls feed.
Questions
Does Medicare have a negotiated price for Ventolin HFA?
The CMS negotiated-price file we read does not list Ventolin HFA, so this page shows no negotiated price. A drug appears in that file only when CMS selects it for negotiation, and not being listed says nothing about what it costs a patient.
Is there help paying for Ventolin HFA?
No program in our finder lists this drug yet.
How much does Medicare Part D spend on Ventolin HFA?
CMS's Medicare Part D spending dataset reports gross spending on Ventolin HFA of $152.86 million in 2024, across 2,272,575 claims and 850,779 beneficiaries. CMS's dataset states spending is gross drug cost and does not reflect manufacturers' rebates or other price concessions. Spending is the total paid by Medicare, plans and beneficiaries for the drug's claims, not what a patient pays.
For developers: this drug as data
One call returns the generic-entry upper bound, label history, recalls, trials, assistance and Part D spending, and where facts exist the FDA safety program (REMS), DEA schedule, orphan designations, safety notices and Medicaid use by state, each with receipts.
Example file: https://omnirx.org/api/v1/dossier/ventolin-hfa.json
The licence page sets out what a data licence covers, and the API page documents these files.
Evaluation files with receipts; contract may change; not clinical advice.
Sources and terms. This drug is not in the CMS negotiated-price file, so no price source is used. Program details read from each program's own pages; CMS Medicare Part D spending by drug; CMS Medicaid spending by drug; TRICARE and VA formulary files; FDA Drugs@FDA and Orange Book data files; openFDA drug enforcement reports. Figures are stored with their sources in the OmniRx library (edition 2026-11). Free to cite with attribution. Not medical, legal or financial advice. Report an error through the contact page. Licence the data.