May 2017 Formulary Changes to the Top Medicare Drugs

The May, 2017 Medicare Part D plan formulary (or drug list) data included 43 new drug codes or NDCs representing 33 different medications.

The 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.

This article highlights the change for some of the "top Medicare drugs", including their generic equivalents. The generics included are Atorvastatin [Lipitor®] , Clopidogrel [Plavix®], Escitalopram [Lexapro®], Esomeprazole Sodium [Nexium®], Pioglitazone [Actos®], Risedronate Sodium [Actonel®], Quetiapine Fumarate [Seroquel®], and Valsartan-HCTZ [Diovan HCT®].

The changes to the number of formularies covering these medications looks as follows:

Count of 2017 Formularies covering the Top Medicare Drugs Program wide
Formulary Count*
NDC	Drug Name	2013 End**	2014 End**	2015 End**	2016 End**	2017 Start**	April	May	June	July	Aug.
00430047203	ACTONEL 35 MG 36 DOSE PACK	233	248	148	25	11	11	11
64764030115	ACTOS 30MG/1 TABLET (90 CT)	214	75	35	23	16	16	16
00173069600	ADVAIR DISKUS MIS 250/50	307	347	353	348	358	362	363
63304082790	ATORVASTATIN 10 MG TABLET [Lipitor]	316	364	394
00378395009	ATORVASTATIN 10 MG TABLET [Lipitor]	385	377	379	380
00378362777	CLOPIDOGREL TAB 75MG [Plavix]	315	364
55111019630	CLOPIDOGREL TAB 75MG [Plavix]	394
00093731456	CLOPIDOGREL TAB 75MG [Plavix]	385	377	379	380
00078031534	DIOVAN HCT 160/12.5MG TABLET	185	80	50	29	21	21	21
00093585101	ESCITALOPRAM 10 MG TABLET [Lexapro]	315	363	385	385	377	379	380
47335050944	ESOMEPRAZOLE SODIUM 40 MG VIAL [Nexium]	253	285
62756050944	ESOMEPRAZOLE SODIUM 40 MG VIAL [Nexium]	285	302	292	296	296
00088222033	LANTUS 100U/ML VIAL	309	350	382	371	368	372	373
00456201001	LEXAPRO 10MG TABLET	92	55	45	26	12	12	12
00071015523	LIPITOR 10MG TABLET	68	43	30	21	20	20	20
00186504054	NEXIUM 40MG CAPSULE	198	211	206	98	25	33	33
00378022893	PIOGLITAZONE HCL 30 MG TABLET [Actos]	310	364	394	385	377	379	380
63653117105	PLAVIX 75MG TABLET	109	48	34	20	13	13	13
47335090288	QUETIAPINE FUMARATE 25 MG TAB [SEROQUEL]	316	364	394	385	377	379	380
00591207539	RISEDRONATE SODIUM 35 MG TABLET [Actonel]	243
00093309844	RISEDRONATE SODIUM 35 MG TABLET [Actonel]	220	246	227	229	230
47335066868	RISEDRONATE SODIUM 35 MG TABLET [Actonel]	223	237	244	245
00310027510	SEROQUEL 25MG TABLET	112	54	43	26	12	12	12
00378632205	VALSARTAN-HCTZ 160-12.5 MG TAB [Diovan HCT]	297	343	388	376	370	372	373

*The formulary counts include both stand-alone prescription drug plans (PDP) and Medicare Advantage plans (MAPD) in all states and the U.S. territories.
**Ending 2013 CMS formulary dataset dated October, 2013. Ending 2014 CMS formulary dataset dated September, 2014. Ending 2015 CMS formulary dataset dated September, 2015. Ending 2016 CMS formulary dataset dated September, 2016. Starting 2017 CMS formulary dataset dated October, 2016 (Sanctioned plans not included in plan count).

You can review any Medicare plan formulary using the on this site FormularyBrowser at FormularyBrowser.com or compare how any medication is covered on all Medicare plans in your service area using our on this site.