By Patricia Battle Amid the start of a new year, thousands of asthma patients are in for an inconvenient transition as popular asthma inhaler Flovent is being discontinued by manufacturer GSK starting on Jan. 1, and its replacement, which is an identical “authorized generic” version of the medication, lacks coverage from most insurance companies. “The authorized generic contains the same medicine, in the same familiar device, and with the same instructions for use as Flovent HFA,” said GSK in a written statement to TheStreet. Related: Major health insurance company faces disturbing allegations…