New IMS Health Report Finds Generic Drugs Used More in Part D than Commercial Market

WASHINGTON, August 02, 2007 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A key benchmark of plan performance -- the use of generic medications -- is higher in Medicare Part D than in the rest of the marketplace, according to a new report from IMS Health, a global pharmaceutical and healthcare consulting firm. Part D plans have also helped previously uninsured seniors to reduce their out-of-pocket costs by 60 percent per prescription according to IMS, said the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA) today.

The new IMS report-Medicare Part D: The First Year-examines the impact of Part D on medication use among seniors. Specifically, IMS finds:

    -- Generic drugs comprise 58 percent of prescriptions in Part D, compared

       to 57 percent of all retail prescriptions;

    -- In Part D, patient compliance with therapies for chronic conditions

       increased in 4 out of 5 therapeutic categories;

    -- Previously uninsured seniors in Part D increased their use of all

       medications-including both generics and brands-by  26 percent while

       their out-of-pocket costs per prescription decreased by 60 percent;

    -- Seniors switching from third-party coverage to Part D increased their

       prescription use by 10 percent, while their out-of-pocket drug costs

       decreased  by 17 percent; and

    -- Only 6 percent of enrollees entered the donut hole, and a sizable

       portion of those enrollees did so in the final days of the year.

"PBMs have played a key role in increasing generic utilization in Part D," said PCMA President Mark Merritt. "This new report is further evidence that Part D plans and the PBMs who administer them are reducing costs and increasing access for America's seniors and the disabled."

In addition to the most recent data from IMS, a study earlier this year from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) found that proven pharmacy benefit management tools in Part D are estimated to save beneficiaries $693 billion over the 2008 to 2017 period, including $43 billion in reduced prescription drug costs in 2008 alone.

*Link to IMS Health report

http://www.imshealth.com/medicarefirstyear

PCMA is the national association representing America's pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), which administer prescription drug plans for more than 210 million Americans with health coverage provided through Fortune 500 employers, health insurance plans, labor unions, and Medicare Part D.

CONTACT: Charles Cote of the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association,+1-202-207-3605

Web site: http://www.imshealth.com/medicarefirstyear/

Terms and conditions of use apply
Copyright © 2007 PR Newswire Association LLC. All rights reserved.
A United Business Media Company

Latest Pharma Industry News...

Pharma Industry News Archive

More News Resources

Daily MedNews
Pharma Industry News
New Drug Applications
New Drug Approvals
Clinical Trial Results
Generic Drug Approvals
Monthly Update Archive