As
you may know, Medicare Part D prescription drug plans update their plan formularies (drug lists) throughout the plan year and the September 2019
Medicare Part D formulary updates included 34 new drugs, 20 of which are new generic drugs - with a total of 27 new generic equivalents
(variations of manufacturer, drug-strength, and packaging).
Below is a full list of the new generics added to
the 2019 Medicare Part D (PDP) and Medicare Advantage plan (MAPD) formularies:
https://q1medicare.com/news/Article.php?article_id=*The number of formularies counts the unique formularies that offer this
medication. As a note, the same formulary can be used by one or many
different Medicare Part D plans. The same formulary can be used by both
PDP and MAPD plans.
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 2019 generics are being
offered on the same tier as their brand-name equivalent or the generics do not
have a significantly lower retail price.
- Your brand-name drug may no longer be
available if a generic is now available. Based on past
experience, you may find that many Medicare Part D plans discontinue
coverage for the brand-name drug in the months following the
introduction of the generic equivalent - or your plan may immediately drop the brand-name drug now that the generic is being introduced
.
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 must continue taking the brand-name drug, you will
need to ask your plan for a formulary
exception to continue coverage for your brand-name
drug.
You can click for a chart
showing the trends in formulary coverage for some of the more popular
Medicare drugs and their generic equivalents.
As a note, both our
Formulary Browser
(you can view all the drugs covered by a single Medicare prescription drug plan) and our Q1Rx
Drug Finder
(you can view all the Medicare drug plans covering a single drug) have been
updated with the September 2019 Medicare Part D formulary data.