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August 2021 Medicare Drug List Updates: Thirty-nine (39) medications added to 2021 Medicare Part D Drug plan formularies.

Category: Monthly Formulary Changes
Published: Aug, 14 2021 09:08:58


The recently released August 2021 Medicare Part D prescription drug plan formulary (drug lists) data is now online and included in our Formulary Browser and Q1Rx Drug Finder.

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 https://Q1News.com/903.html 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
  1. 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.

  2. Your Medicare Part D plan will notify you if the plan drops a medication you are currently using.

Good to know: What is the NDC?

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 here: Q1FAQ.com/155


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 Q1Medicare.com Drug Finder (Q1Rx.com) 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.


NDC Drug Name Number of
PDP Formularies*
Number of
MAPD Formularies*
Notes
73604091404 ARCALYST 220 MG VIAL 68 393 New Drug
00591212779 BRINZOLAMIDE 1% EYE DROPS EYE DROPPER [Azopt] 30 238 New Drug
50383073202 CALCIPOTRIENE 0.005% SOLUTION [Dovonex Scalp] 68 396 New Drug and Delivery Form
51862051260 CALCIPOTRIENE 0.005% FOAM [Sorilux] 0 25 New Drug and Delivery Form
29033020701 CARISOPRODOL 250 MG TABLET [Soma] 4 43 New Drug
52427080001 COMTAN 200 MG TABLET 3 8 New Drug
50742065928 DOLISHALE 90-20 MCG TABLET [Lybrel] 24 153 New Drug
13668044301 FLUOXETINE HCL 10 MG TABLET [Sarafem] 32 193 New Manufacturer
13668047301 FLUOXETINE HCL 20 MG TABLET [Sarafem] 15 157 New Manufacturer
45629008901 FOTIVDA 0.89 MG CAPSULE 68 392 New Drug and Strength
45629013401 FOTIVDA 1.34 MG CAPSULE 68 392 New Drug and Strength
00074012404 HUMIRA(CF) PEN PEDI UC 80 MG PEN IJ KIT 62 379 New Packaging
47781039760 HYDROCODONE ER 100 MG TABLET ER 24H [Hysingla ER] 8 79 New Drug and Strength
47781039860 HYDROCODONE ER 120 MG TABLET ER 24H [Hysingla ER] 8 79 New Drug and Strength
47781039260 HYDROCODONE ER 20 MG TABLET ER 24H [Hysingla ER] 8 79 New Drug and Strength
47781039360 HYDROCODONE ER 30 MG TABLET ER 24H [Hysingla ER] 8 79 New Drug and Strength
47781039460 HYDROCODONE ER 40 MG TABLET ER 24H [Hysingla ER] 8 79 New Drug and Strength
47781039560 HYDROCODONE ER 60 MG TABLET ER 24H [Hysingla ER] 8 77 New Drug and Strength
47781039660 HYDROCODONE ER 80 MG TABLET ER 24H [Hysingla ER] 8 79 New Drug and Strength
50991099960 NORGESIC FORTE 50-770-60 MG TABLET [Orphengesic Forte] 0 2 New Drug
10702018401 OXYCODONE-ACETAMINOPHN 2.5-325 TABLET [Percocet] 65 387 New Drug
47781038030 PREGABALIN ER 165 MG TABLET ER 24H [Lyrica CR] 10 98 New Drug and Strength
47781038130 PREGABALIN ER 330 MG TABLET ER 24H [Lyrica CR] 10 96 New Drug and Strength
47781037930 PREGABALIN ER 82.5 MG TABLET ER 24H [Lyrica CR] 10 98 New Drug and Strength
70752017110 PROPYLTHIOURACIL 50 MG TABLET 68 396 New Drug
17772013130 QELBREE ER 100 MG CAPSULE ER 24H 0 5 New Drug and Strength
17772013230 QELBREE ER 150 MG CAPSULE ER 24H 0 5 New Drug and Strength
17772013330 QELBREE ER 200 MG CAPSULE ER 24H 0 5 New Drug and Strength
52427083401 STALEVO 150 TABLET 0 28 New Manufacturer and Strength
52427084201 STALEVO 200 TABLET 0 28 New Manufacturer and Strength
66689010502 THYQUIDITY 100 MCG/5 ML SOLUTION 0 14 New Drug
60846080801 UNITHROID 137 MCG TABLET 63 341 New Strength
00093400028 VESTURA 3 MG-0.02 MG TABLET [Yaz] 56 344 New Drug
73562010410 VIOKACE 10,440-39,150 UNIT TABLET 11 49 New Strength
70183012585 XERMELO 250 MG TABLET 6 124 New Drug
00469062599 XTANDI 40 MG TABLET 68 345 New Strength
00469072560 XTANDI 80 MG TABLET 68 345 New Strength
65162035803 ZAFEMY 150-35 MCG/DAY PATCH [Xulane] 19 234 New Drug
73562011401 ZENPEP DR 40,000 UNIT CAPSULE DR 57 363 New Strength




Our online Formulary Browser and Drug Finder

You can review any Medicare plan formulary using the Q1Medicare.com 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: Q1Rx.com.








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