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August 2014 Formulary Changes to the Top 10 Medicare Drugs

Category: Monthly Formulary Changes
Published: Aug, 16 2014 04:08:19


The most recent (August 2014) Medicare Part D plan formulary data (or drug lists) updates included 87 new drug codes.  See August 2014 Summary of the Most Recent Updates for the Medicare Part D Plan Formularies (Drug Lists) for details.

Although this blog is about the top 10 Medicare drugs, we include some of the newer generic equivalents to the list, thus bringing our list to include 17 drugs.  The generics included are Atorvastatin [Lipitor®] , Clopidogrel [Plavix®], Escitalopram [Lexapro®], Esomeprazole Sodium [Nexium®], Pioglitazone [Actos®], Quetiapine Fumarate [Seroquel®], and Valsartan-HCTZ[Diovan HCT®]. 

The changes to the number of formularies covering these medications looks as follows:

Count of 2014 Formularies covering the Top 10 Medicare Drugs Program wide
    Formulary Count*
NDC Drug Name 2013 Start** 2013 End** 2014 Start** Jan Mar May June Aug. Sep.
00430047203 ACTONEL 35 MG 36 DOSE PACK 229 233 238 239 247 252 252 237  
64764030116 ACTOS 30MG TABLET (500 CT) 312 1      
 
 
 
64764030115 ACTOS 30MG/1 TABLET (90 CT)   214 71 74 73 75 75 71  
00173069600 ADVAIR DISKUS MIS 250/50 300 307 330 329 343 350 350 336  
63304082790 ATORVASTATIN 10 MG TABLET [Lipitor] 312 316 340 341 358 367 367 352  
00378362777 CLOPIDOGREL TAB 75MG [Plavix] 299 315 340 341 358 367 367 352  
00078031534 DIOVAN HCT 160/12.5MG TABLET 232 185 78 78 78 80 80 78  
00093585101 ESCITALOPRAM 10 MG TABLET [Lexapro] 297 315 339 340 357 366 366 351  
47335050944 ESOMEPRAZOLE SODIUM 40 MG VIAL [Nexium]           253 253 246  
00088222033 LANTUS 100U/ML VIAL 306 309 325 326 343 352 352 337  
00456201001 LEXAPRO 10MG TABLET 92 92 54 54 53 55 55 53  
00071015523 LIPITOR 10MG TABLET 67 68 42 42 41 43 43 43  
00186504054 NEXIUM 40MG CAPSULE 182 198 198 200 205 211 211 206  
00378022893 PIOGLITAZONE HCL 30 MG TABLET [Actos]   310 340 341 358 367 367 352  
63653117105 PLAVIX 75MG TABLET 114 109 48 48 47 48 48 46  
47335090288 QUETIAPINE FUMARATE 25 MG TAB [SEROQUEL] 292 316 339 340 357 367 367 352  
00310027510 SEROQUEL 25MG TABLET 116 112 54 54 53 54 54 51  
00378632205 VALSARTAN-HCTZ 160-12.5 MG TAB [Diovan HCT]   297 319 320 337 346
346 331  

*The formulary counts include both stand-alone prescription drug plans (PDP) and Medicare Advantage plans (MAPD) in all states and the U.S. territories.
**Initial (start) 2013 CMS formulary dataset dated October, 2012, ending 2013 CMS formulary dataset dated October, 2013.
**Initial (start) 2014 CMS formulary dataset dated October, 2013.

You can review any Medicare plan formulary using the Q1Medicare.com FormularyBrowser at Q1Medicare.com/FormularyBrowser or compare how any medication is covered on all Medicare plans in your service area using our Q1Medicare.com/DrugFinder.






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