Asthma sufferers using steroid inhalers may not need to take those medications every day, according to a new study at UTMB. That could save Americans billions of dollars a year in drug expenses. Researchers estimated that American asthmatics reducing their dosage would save about $2-billion a year in pharmaceutical expenses. "That’s a lot of money," UTMB’s Dr. William Calhoun said. "Two billion dollars of steroid money could be saved if we were to use this sort of an approach in the appropriately selected patients." But Calhoun emphasized that each patient should consult his or her physician before changing medication strategies.