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Eight (8) New Generic Equivalents Added to Medicare Part D formularies in July 2017

Category: Monthly Formulary Changes
Published: Jul, 17 2017 06:07:55


The July, 2017 Medicare Part D formulary data updates included a total of 8 new generic equivalents (manufacturer, drug, strength, and packaging combinations) or National Drug Codes (NDCs) representing 5 specific 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 product and strength, and the third set of numbers identifies the packaging.

Some interesting additions to the 2017 Medicare Part D (PDP) and Medicare Advantage plan (MAPD) formularies include:


Generic Drug Equivalent [Brand-Name Drug]

Number of
PDP
Formularies

Number of
MAPD
Formularies

Desvenlafaxine Succinate ER 100 mg [Pristiq] 54 324
Desvenlafaxine Succinate ER 25 mg [Pristiq] 57 325
Desvenlafaxine Succinate ER 50 mg [Pristiq] 54 324
Flurandrenolide 0.05% Ointment [Cordran] 8 63
Irbesartan-hctz 300-12.5 mg tb [Avalide] 53 327
Montelukast sod 4 mg tab chew [Singulair] 57 333
Montelukast sod 5 mg tab chew [Singulair] 57 333
Zoledronic acid 4 mg/5 ml vial [Zometa] 57 332

The following table details the eight (8) manufacturer / drug / strength / packaging combinations (NDCs) that were added to one or more Medicare Part D formularies in the April 2017 updates. You can click on the NDC or Drug Name below to go to our Q1Medicare.com Drug Finder 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.

July 2017 Generic Medications Added to Medicare Part D
NDC Generic Drug Name Brand-Name Drug
68180059306 Desvenlafaxine Succinate ER 100 mg [Pristiq]
00591406030 Desvenlafaxine Succinate ER 25 mg tb [Pristiq]
68180059206 Desvenlafaxine Succinate ER 50 mg tb [Pristiq]
52565001760 Flurandrenolide 0.05% Ointment [Cordran]
00054025513 Irbesartan-hctz 300-12.5 mg tb [Avalide]
65862056790 Montelukast sod 4 mg tab chew [Singulair]
65862056890 Montelukast sod 5 mg tab chew [Singulair]
00143964201 Zoledronic acid 4 mg/5 ml vial [Zometa]

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 2017 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 Tamiflu (45 mg) may have a retail cost of around $132.16 as a Tier 4 drug (35% co-insurance) and the same plan may now cover the generic equivalent OSELTAMIVIR PHOS 45 MG also as a Tier 4 drug (35% 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.  From past experience, we may find that many Medicare Part D plans discontinue coverage of a brand-name drug in the months following the introduction of a 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 will need to ask your plan for a formulary exception to continue coverage for the brand-name drug.  You can click for a chart showing the trends in formulary coverage for some of the most 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.







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