The
April, 2018 Medicare Part D formulary data updates included a
total of
103 new generic equivalents (manufacturer, drug,
strength, and packaging combinations) or National Drug Codes (NDCs) representing 57 different generic drugs.
What exactly is an NDC?
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 drug and strength, and the third set of numbers identifies the packaging.
The full list of new generics is further down on this page, but here are some interesting additions to
the 2018 Medicare Part D (PDP) and Medicare Advantage plan (MAPD) formularies:
*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.
All April 2018 Generic Medications Added to Medicare Part D
The following table details the 103 manufacturer / drug-strength / packaging combinations (NDCs) that were added to one or more Medicare Part D formularies in the April 2018 updates. You can click on the NDC or Drug Name below to go to our Q1Medicare Drug Finder (
Q1Rx.com) to see the details of how this drug is handled by all Medicare Part D Plans in Florida (our example state) -- 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 2018 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 Emend
(40 mg) may be a Tier 4 drug (45%
co-insurance) and the same plan may now cover the generic equivalent APREPITANT 40 MG CAPSULE also as a Tier 4 drug (45% 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. 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. 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.
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.