The August formulary updates include the addition of 39 new National Drug Codes (NDCs), representing 25 different prescription drugs, many with multiple strengths.
The formulary updates impact both stand-alone Medicare Part D plans (PDPs) and Medicare Advantage plans with drug coverage (MAPDs).
Highlights of the August 2021 Formulary update include three (3) newly-added brand-name drugs
The August drug data updates include 11 new brand-name drugs, three (3) of which are newly introduced brand-name drugs, some with multiple strengths. These drugs include:
- FOTIVDA®,
- QELBREE®, and
- THYQUIDITY®.
The August 2021 Formulary update includes nine (9) newly-added generic drugs
The August Medicare Part D drug data also includes fourteen (14) new generic medications, nine (9) of which are newly-introduced generic drugs. These new generic drugs include:
- BRINZOLAMIDE [Azopt®],
- CALCIPOTRIENE [Sorilux®],
- CARISOPRODOL [Soma®],
- DOLISHALE [Lybrel®],
- HYDROCODONE ER [Hysingla ER®],
- NORGESIC FORTE [Orphengesic Forte®],
- Pregabalin ER [Lyrica CR®],
- VESTURA [Yaz®], and
- ZAFEMY [Xulane®].
You can see our article "August 2021 Drug List Updates: Fourteen (14) new generic drugs added to many Medicare Part D plan formularies." found at on this site for more about coverage the new generics.
Please note that these new generic and brand-name drugs are not available on all Medicare Part D or Medicare Advantage drug plans - and you can review the chart to see the (often limited) number of plan formularies that now include these drugs.
Reminders about Medicare prescription drug plan formulary changes
- Medicare Part D plans (PDPs and MAPDs) can change their formulary or drug list during the year and may drop one of your formulary medication mid-year for specific Medicare-allowable reasons (such as a new generic drug is available), but there are steps you can take if your medication is no longer covered by your prescription drug plan.
- Your Medicare Part D plan
will notify you if the plan drops a medication you are currently using.
The NDC or National Drug Code is used to uniquely identify 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 drug manufacturer, the second set of number identifies the product and strength, and the third set of numbers identifies the packaging. You can read more on this site
Summary of August 2021 NDC changes
There are many reasons for NDCs to be added to the Medicare Part D program, a summary for all 39 new August 2021 NDCs is as follows:
| Reason for NDC Addition | Occurrences |
| New Drug | 12 |
| New Drug and Delivery Form | 2 |
| New Drug and Strength | 15 |
| New Manufacturer | 2 |
| New Manufacturer and Strength | 2 |
| New Packaging | 1 |
| New Strength | 5 |
| Grand Total | 39 |
The following chart details the 39 new manufacturer / drug-strength / packaging combinations (NDCs) that were added to one or more Medicare Part D formularies in the most recent updates -- as you will notices, some drugs are only covered by a few Medicare plans.
You can click on the Drug Name below to go to our on this site Drug Finder ( on this site) and see the details of how this drug is covered by all Medicare Part D plans (PDPs) in Florida (our example state). You can then change the state in our search form for details of drug coverage in your service area.
You can review any Medicare plan formulary using the on this site Formulary Browser found at: FormularyBrowser.com or compare how any medication is covered on all Medicare plans in your Service Area using our Drug Finder found at on this site.