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Does Kaiser cover Vyvanse?

How to determine whether your Kaiser plan covers Vyvanse and what to do if it doesn’t
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By | Aug. 5, 2025 Medically reviewed by Chad Shaffer, MD
A health insurance card, pills, and a stethoscope: Does Kaiser cover Vyvanse?

Key takeaways

  • Vyvanse and its generic form, lisdexamfetamine, are prescription ADHD medications that may be covered by certain Kaiser Permanente plans.

  • It’s more likely that generic Vyvanse is covered, but typically only the capsules and not the chewables.

  • If covered, Vyvanse and its generic form may still be “non-preferred” drugs, meaning you could be paying a higher copay or co-insurance.

In this article:

Vyvanse (lisdexamfetamine dimesylate) is a brand-name prescription medication approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in adults and children over 6 years old. It was first approved in 2007 and is part of a class of medications called central nervous system stimulants. It’s also approved to treat adults with moderate to severe binge-eating disorder. Insurance may cover Vyvanse, but there may be specific criteria to meet before it’s covered. Learn about what those are and how to check your coverage below. 

Does Kaiser cover Vyvanse?

Insurance plans from Kaiser Permanente do cover Vyvanse, but not all of them may cover the brand-name. For example, Individual and Family insurance plans from Kaiser Permanente in southern Washington cover brand-name Vyvanse as a preferred brand-name drug, but Kaiser’s Medicare Part D plans in the state only cover the generic lisdexamfetamine dimesylate. 

Kaiser Permanente offers Medicaid plans in California, Colorado, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Hawaii, Maryland, Oregon, Virginia, and Washington. Medicaid coverage of Vyvanse varies by state, and some states might cover only some forms of Vyvanse but not others. For example, Colorado’s Medicaid preferred drug list as of July 1, 2025, lists Vyvanse capsules as a preferred drug, but Vyvanse chewable tablets and generic lisdexamfetamine dimesylate chewable tablets are not preferred. 

It’s important to know that even if your Kaiser Permanente plan covers Vyvanse, many plans often require prior authorization for coverage. That means healthcare providers need to work with Kaiser to prove medical necessity before your prescription is covered. “As the prescriber, I have to submit documentation that shows why those other options didn’t work or weren’t tolerated. It can be a frustrating process for both the prescriber and the client, but unfortunately, it’s become a standard part of getting certain medications covered,” shares Logan Kodysz, NP, a board-certified psychiatric nurse practitioner and the co-founder of Desert Clover Psychiatry in Phoenix, Arizona.

Does Kaiser cover generic Vyvanse?

If your Kaiser plan doesn’t cover brand-name Vyvanse, it may cover its generic version, which has the same active ingredient, says Charles Sweet, MD, psychiatrist and medical adviser at Linear Health. “Vyvanse and its generic versions contain the same active ingredient, lisdexamfetamine. The FDA has strict guidelines on the ingredients of generic drugs—so strict, in fact, that there is little variance between them and their name-brand counterparts,” he says. 

Many Kaiser Permanente plans cover generic Vyvanse, and some plans cover both the generic and brand-name versions. However, not all plans will cover all forms of generic Vyvanse. As mentioned above, some plans, like Kaiser’s Colorado Medicaid plans, may cover generic Vyvanse capsules, but not its chewable form. 

It’s best to check with your health insurance plan’s drug formulary for more information about Vyvanse coverage. A drug formulary is the list of drugs a plan covers. 

How much does Vyvanse cost without insurance?

The average cost of Vyvanse without using insurance is $552 for 30, 30 mg capsules. This could mean that a year’s supply could cost $6,624 without insurance. 

In contrast, generic Vyvanse costs $443 for 30, 30 mg capsules on average without insurance. A year’s supply of generic Vyvanse could be $5,316, about 20% less than the cost of brand-name Vyvanse. If a free SingleCare discount card is used at one of the patient’s local pharmacies, the price of 30, 30 mg capsules of generic Vyvanse may only be $65.

How much does Vyvanse cost with Kaiser?

The cost of Vyvanse can vary depending on your plan’s coverage and formulary. Drugs listed on a formulary are given a coverage tier that determines how much someone can expect to pay for the drug. For example, one of Kaiser Permanente’s Medicare plans offered in Washington covers generic Vyvanse as a Tier 4 drug, which means members can expect to pay $90 out-of-pocket per 30-day supply in 2025. 

Some Kaiser plans in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia cover brand-name Vyvanse as a Tier 3 drug. Depending on the type of plan, this could cost $80 per prescription or 50% of the pharmacy’s price.  

In the plans we researched, generic and brand-name Vyvanse are typically covered as “non-preferred” drugs. Non-preferred drugs typically have higher out-of-pocket costs than “preferred” drugs. 

How to check whether your Kaiser plan covers Vyvanse 

To check whether your Kaiser plan covers Vyvanse, you can call the Kaiser Member Services line on the back of your insurance card. You can also check online by logging into your account on the Kaiser Permanente website and navigating to the Benefits section. 

On Kaiser’s website, you can find your plan’s drug formulary by visiting the Kaiser site for your region:

For Kaiser Permanente’s Federal Employee Health Benefits (FEHB) plans, you can look up prescription drug costs using their online tool.

How to save on Vyvanse

If your insurance plan doesn’t cover Vyvanse, there are still ways to save. One easy way is to use a SingleCare Vyvanse coupon, which can save you up to 80%. SingleCare coupons are free and accessible from the website or through the SingleCare app. You can use them at many major pharmacies across the country.

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