WASHINGTON, Nov. 16 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A new report released by the Office of Inspector General (OIG) finding that in Medicare Part D, generic drugs were dispensed 88 percent of the time when generic substitutes were available and that 56 percent of all drugs dispensed are generics confirms that proven pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) tools are driving down prescription drug costs for America's seniors, said the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA) today.
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"As numerous other studies have found, Part D plans and the PBMs who administer them are driving increased generic utilization," said PCMA President and CEO Mark Merritt. "This most recent report from OIG finding that 56 percent of all Medicare drugs dispensed are generics confirms that proven PBM tools are driving down costs and increasing access on prescription drugs for America's seniors."
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Part D plans are achieving high generic utilization rates while complying with numerous Medicare coverage requirements. According to OIG, in Part D:
Proven PBM tools have resulted in overall costs for the Part D program coming in 30 percent less than originally estimated, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). PBMs will also save the Medicare program and its beneficiaries $693 billion over the 2008-2017 period compared to what expenditures would have been without active PBM management, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).
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.
-- Generic drugs were dispensed 88 percent of the time when Generic substitutes were available; -- 37 percent of prescriptions were written for drugs that have no generic substitutes; and -- 56 percent of all drugs dispensed were generics.
SOURCE Pharmaceutical Care Management Association
