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Pulmicort is a brand of budesonide. What agents check before quoting it: how many 2027 Part D plans cover it, on which tier, with what restrictions and copays, by plan type, carrier and state.
In 2027, 317 of 5,492 Medicare Part D and Medicare Advantage drug plans (5.8%) list Pulmicort on their formulary, across 23 of 286 formularies. The most common placement is tier 3 (178 plans, 56.2% of those covering it). 0 of the covering plans require prior authorization (0%), 0 step therapy and 182 a quantity limit. Generic budesonide is on 5,492 of 5,492 plans (100%).
178 covering plans charge a flat copay for a 30-day supply at a preferred retail pharmacy after the deductible — median $42, 18 of them $0; 139 charge coinsurance instead — median 25% of the drug's cost. Once a member's out-of-pocket drug spending reaches $2,400 in 2027, covered drugs cost $0 for the rest of the year.
2026: 517 of 5,496 plans covered it (9.4%); 2027: 317 of 5,492 (5.8%).
Of 4,367 plans offered in both years, 110 added it to the formulary and 229 dropped it.
Among plans covering it both years, 7 moved it to a higher tier and 8 to a lower one; 0 added prior authorization and 0 removed it.
| Tier | Plans |
|---|---|
| Tier 1 | 12 |
| Tier 2 | 3 |
| Tier 3 | 178 |
| Tier 4 | 124 |
| Plan type | Plans covering | Share | Prior auth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stand-alone Part D (PDP) | 34 of 323 | 10.5% | 0% |
| Medicare Advantage with drugs (MA-PD) | 187 of 3,200 | 5.8% | 0% |
| Special needs plans (SNP) | 96 of 1,969 | 4.9% | 0% |
| Carrier | Plans covering | Usual tier | Prior auth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Humana | 0 of 846 | No tier listed | 0 |
| UnitedHealthcare | 34 of 830 | Tier 3 | 0 |
| Devoted Health | 0 of 728 | No tier listed | 0 |
| Aetna Medicare | 0 of 631 | No tier listed | 0 |
| Wellcare | 0 of 268 | No tier listed | 0 |
| HealthSpring | 0 of 226 | No tier listed | 0 |
| Kaiser Permanente | 112 of 112 | Tier 4 | 0 |
| SCAN Health Plan | 83 of 83 | Tier 3 | 0 |
| Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield or Highmark Blue Shield | 0 of 80 | No tier listed | 0 |
| Alignment Health Plan | 0 of 77 | No tier listed | 0 |
| Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield | 0 of 74 | No tier listed | 0 |
| Wellpoint | 0 of 63 | No tier listed | 0 |
| Priority Health Medicare | 0 of 40 | No tier listed | 0 |
| CarePlus Health Plans, Inc. | 0 of 37 | No tier listed | 0 |
| Zing Health | 0 of 36 | No tier listed | 0 |
| Capital Blue Cross | 0 of 35 | No tier listed | 0 |
| Prominence Health Plan | 0 of 29 | No tier listed | 0 |
| Medica | 0 of 27 | No tier listed | 0 |
| Anthem HealthKeepers | 0 of 26 | No tier listed | 0 |
| Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan | 0 of 26 | No tier listed | 0 |
| State | Plans covering | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 1 of 114 | 0.9% |
| Alaska | 1 of 9 | 11.1% |
| American Samoa | 0 of 1 | 0% |
| Arizona | 9 of 147 | 6.1% |
| Arkansas | 1 of 85 | 1.2% |
| California | 115 of 397 | 29% |
| Colorado | 12 of 106 | 11.3% |
| Connecticut | 1 of 54 | 1.9% |
| Delaware | 3 of 43 | 7% |
| District of Columbia | 3 of 12 | 25% |
| Florida | 7 of 545 | 1.3% |
| Georgia | 9 of 149 | 6% |
| Guam | 0 of 1 | 0% |
| Hawaii | 7 of 50 | 14% |
| Idaho | 1 of 45 | 2.2% |
| Illinois | 1 of 132 | 0.8% |
| Indiana | 1 of 138 | 0.7% |
| Iowa | 1 of 64 | 1.6% |
| Kansas | 1 of 84 | 1.2% |
| Kentucky | 1 of 121 | 0.8% |
| Louisiana | 1 of 125 | 0.8% |
| Maine | 1 of 52 | 1.9% |
| Maryland | 11 of 49 | 22.4% |
| Massachusetts | 12 of 89 | 13.5% |
| Michigan | 13 of 182 | 7.1% |
| Minnesota | 1 of 63 | 1.6% |
| Mississippi | 1 of 104 | 1% |
| Missouri | 1 of 170 | 0.6% |
| Montana | 1 of 27 | 3.7% |
| Nebraska | 1 of 51 | 2% |
| Nevada | 8 of 100 | 8% |
| New Hampshire | 1 of 25 | 4% |
| New Jersey | 3 of 73 | 4.1% |
| New Mexico | 4 of 68 | 5.9% |
| New York | 7 of 215 | 3.3% |
| North Carolina | 1 of 176 | 0.6% |
| North Dakota | 1 of 26 | 3.8% |
| Northern Mariana Islands | 0 of 1 | 0% |
| Ohio | 1 of 171 | 0.6% |
| Oklahoma | 1 of 81 | 1.2% |
| Oregon | 7 of 92 | 7.6% |
| Pennsylvania | 26 of 323 | 8% |
| Puerto Rico | 17 of 64 | 26.6% |
| Rhode Island | 1 of 29 | 3.4% |
| South Carolina | 1 of 89 | 1.1% |
| South Dakota | 1 of 30 | 3.3% |
| Tennessee | 1 of 156 | 0.6% |
| Texas | 5 of 407 | 1.2% |
| U.S. Virgin Islands | 0 of 1 | 0% |
| Utah | 1 of 53 | 1.9% |
| Vermont | 1 of 14 | 7.1% |
| Virginia | 7 of 144 | 4.9% |
| Washington | 18 of 114 | 15.8% |
| West Virginia | 2 of 69 | 2.9% |
| Wisconsin | 2 of 96 | 2.1% |
| Wyoming | 1 of 13 | 7.7% |
Medicare Part D paid for 186,785 30-day fills of Pulmicort in 2024 for about 47,023 enrollees, at an average total cost of $207.03 per 30-day fill (CMS Part D Prescribers by Geography and Drug, national).
Price Pulmicort and the rest of a client's list on every plan in their county.
Estimate Pulmicort costs by plan
Free tools for licensed insurance agents. Data from CMS public files; verify with plan documents before advising a client.
Counts are over every Medicare Advantage drug plan and stand-alone Part D plan in the CMS monthly formulary files, excluding employer plans. A plan counts as covering a drug when any strength or form of it is on the plan’s formulary; the tier, prior authorization, step therapy and quantity limit shown are the most favorable version on that formulary. Copays are for a 30-day supply at a preferred retail pharmacy after the deductible. This is a reference for licensed agents, not a plan recommendation; verify with the plan’s formulary before advising a client. Source: CMS Part D formulary files (release 10/08/2026). CMS formulary data.