Although this article is about some of the "top Medicare drugs", we include the generic equivalents to the list, thus bringing our list to include 18 drugs. 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 | ||||
| 64764030115 | ACTOS 30MG/1 TABLET (90 CT) | 214 | 75 | 35 | 23 | 16 | 16 | ||||
| 00173069600 | ADVAIR DISKUS MIS 250/50 | 307 | 347 | 353 | 348 | 358 | 362 | ||||
| 63304082790 | ATORVASTATIN 10 MG TABLET [Lipitor] | 316 | 364 | 394 | |||||||
| 00378395009 | ATORVASTATIN 10 MG TABLET [Lipitor] | 385 | 377 | 379 | |||||||
| 00378362777 | CLOPIDOGREL TAB 75MG [Plavix] | 315 | 364 | ||||||||
| 55111019630 | CLOPIDOGREL TAB 75MG [Plavix] | 394 | |||||||||
| 00093731456 | CLOPIDOGREL TAB 75MG [Plavix] | 385 | 377 | 379 | |||||||
| 00078031534 | DIOVAN HCT 160/12.5MG TABLET | 185 | 80 | 50 | 29 | 21 | 21 | ||||
| 00093585101 | ESCITALOPRAM 10 MG TABLET [Lexapro] | 315 | 363 | 385 | 385 | 377 | 379 | ||||
| 47335050944 | ESOMEPRAZOLE SODIUM 40 MG VIAL [Nexium] | 253 | 285 | ||||||||
| 62756050944 | ESOMEPRAZOLE SODIUM 40 MG VIAL [Nexium] | 285 | 302 | 292 | 296 | ||||||
| 00088222033 | LANTUS 100U/ML VIAL | 309 | 350 | 382 | 371 | 368 | 372 | ||||
| 00456201001 | LEXAPRO 10MG TABLET | 92 | 55 | 45 | 26 | 12 | 12 | ||||
| 00071015523 | LIPITOR 10MG TABLET | 68 | 43 | 30 | 21 | 20 | 20 | ||||
| 00186504054 | NEXIUM 40MG CAPSULE | 198 | 211 | 206 | 98 | 25 | 33 | ||||
| 00378022893 | PIOGLITAZONE HCL 30 MG TABLET [Actos] | 310 | 364 | 394 | 385 | 377 | 379 | ||||
| 63653117105 | PLAVIX 75MG TABLET | 109 | 48 | 34 | 20 | 13 | 13 | ||||
| 47335090288 | QUETIAPINE FUMARATE 25 MG TAB [SEROQUEL] | 316 | 364 | 394 | 385 | 377 | 379 | ||||
| 00591207539 | RISEDRONATE SODIUM 35 MG TABLET [Actonel] | 243 | |||||||||
| 00093309844 | RISEDRONATE SODIUM 35 MG TABLET [Actonel] | 220 | 246 | 227 | 229 | ||||||
| 47335066868 | RISEDRONATE SODIUM 35 MG TABLET [Actonel] | 223 | 237 | 244 | |||||||
| 00310027510 | SEROQUEL 25MG TABLET | 112 | 54 | 43 | 26 | 12 | 12 | ||||
| 00378632205 | VALSARTAN-HCTZ 160-12.5 MG TAB [Diovan HCT] | 297 | 343 | 388 | 376 | 370 | 372 | ||||
*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.