Narcan now available over-the-counter but many concerned over pricing

HAPEVILLE, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – The life-saving medication Narcan is now available over-the-counter and will soon fill store shelves at pharmacies across the country.

Narcan, otherwise known as Naloxone, reverses the deadly effects of an opioid overdose.

Each includes two doses of the nasal spray.

“The way Fentanyl is now more and more out there and counterfeit narcotics, so it’s more and more important to have it available to everyone,” said Derek Chapman, owner and pharmacist at Chapman Drug Company.

Chapman said Narcan was previously purchased with a prescription and was fully covered by insurance. He worries that will no longer be the case.

Wednesday morning, Chapman said the price for the product was listed online as $68.

Atlanta News First checked with Walgreens and CVS. They plan to offer the drug in person or online at $44.99.

The retailers also said to double-check with your insurance if they will cover it.

That isn’t comforting for Georgia Council for Recovery’s Brian Kite.

“Even for the average person to consider having a price cost of $40, $50, $60 would be hard for them to. go make that purchase when they don’t know if they’ll come in contact with somebody or not,” said Kite.

Still, Kite remains optimistic that with the FDA’s move, the stigma behind using Narcan is changing. And he hopes it will encourage people to have it everywhere— in stores, cars, your purse or pocket, whether you’re using drugs or not.

“Two years ago this month, my best friend died of a Fentanyl overdose,” said Kite. “And so it is extremely important to me as a person in long-term recovery and as a friend to other people in recovery that we get it to more people so that we can keep more people alive and so that more people have the opportunity like I did to get and stay well.”

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