The April 2017 updates to the Medicare Part D plan formulary data (or drug lists) saw the addition of 47 new generic equivalents (National Drug Codes or NDCs).
In fact, together the
April and
May 2017 Medicare Part D formulary updates included a
total of
49 new generic equivalents (manufacturer, drug,
strength, and packaging combinations) representing 25 specific generic drugs.
The National Drug Code (NDC) uniquely identifies a particular drug, manufacturer, strength, and packaging combination. The NDC is often shown on your prescription bottle as an 11-digit code (see the charts below) or could be formatted as 00000-0000-00 where the first set of numbers identifies the manufacturer, the second set of number identifies the product and strength, and the third set of numbers identifies the packaging.
Some interesting additions to
the 2017 formularies include:
The following table details the 47 manufacturer / drug / strength / packaging combinations (NDCs) that were added to one or more Medicare Part D formularies in the April 2017 updates. You can click on the NDC or Drug Name below to go to our Q1Medicare.com DrugFinder to see the details of how this drug is handled by all Medicare Part D Plans in Florida -- You can then change the state to your state for details in your service area.
What Could the Addition of New Generic Drugs Mean to You?
- You may be able to save money by switching
from the brand-name drug to its generic equivalent – with your prescriber’s
approval and a new prescription. Please note, you will need to look
carefully at coverage costs as we have found that many 2017 generics are being
offered on the same tier as their brand-name equivalent or the generics do not
have a significantly lower retail price. For example,
the brand-name Tamiflu
(45 mg) may have a retail cost of around $132.16 as a Tier 4 drug (35%
co-insurance) and the same plan may now cover the generic equivalent OSELTAMIVIR PHOS 45 MG also as a Tier 4 drug (35% co-insurance). You can click
here to see how your Medicare drug plan is covering these medication.
- Your brand-name drug may no longer be
available if a generic is now available. From past experience, we may find that many Medicare Part D plans discontinue coverage of
a brand-name drug in the months following the introduction of a generic equivalent. If you have received notice from your Medicare Part D plan
that your brand-name medication will be dropped, you should speak with your
prescriber to determine if you can take the generic equivalent or if you will
need to ask your plan for a formulary
exception to continue coverage for the brand-name
drug. You can click for a chart
showing the trends in formulary coverage for some of the most popular
Medicare drugs and their generic equivalents.
You can review any Medicare plan formulary using the Q1Medicare.com FormularyBrowser at
FormularyBrowser.com or compare how any medication is covered on all Medicare plans in your service area using our
Q1Rx.com.