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Average Cost of Common Hypertension Medications - November 2008

Over the next several months, we will be tracking the average cost of several top hypertension medications.  This chart shows average pricing across four major retailers for both brand and generic options; each month the line graph will grow illustrating trends within the drug category as they  emerge.

DestinationRx Helps Safeway Save

 Ken Schachmut, Senior VP Strategic Initiatives, Health Initiatives, and Health Re-engineering at Safeway, recently talked with The Health Care Blog about how DestinationRx helped the grocery store chain achieve significant savings for itself and its employees.

 Last November, DestinationRx technology was integrated into Safeway’s pharmacy benefits plan to encourage employees to seek out lower cost alternatives for their prescribed medications.  The program has already been deemed a success: according to Schachmut, DestinationRx “helped Safeway to embrace and implement therapeutic equivalency to most effectively allocate our health care resources.”

 Click here to read the full interview.

Nearly half of Americans skipping pills, healthcare due to economy

As the economy slips into recession, many employees are ignoring healthcare needs and are taking risky actions to lower their drug costs that may seriously impact their long-term health.  According to a study by the Kaiser Family Foundation, “Nearly half (47 percent) of Americans report someone in their household taking one of five actions involving skipping necessary health care in the past year because of the cost.  Roughly one in four say they did not fill a prescription, and only slightly fewer say they cut pills or skipped doses.”  This trend is concerning because failure to follow prescription drug regimens can have serious and expensive short and long term consequences.  Fortunately, in many cases switching to lower-cost alternatives could save more than cutting back. 

 

For example, a patient prescribed Zocor 20mg to control cholesterol, who is uninsured, underinsured, is in the “Donut Hole”, or for other reasons is responsible for the full cost of the drug has several options¹:

 

1. Pay $145.09 retail for a 30-day supply of the brand drug as prescribed. (Annual cost: $1,741.08)

2. Substitute with the direct generic equivalent², simvastatin 20mg, for $75.30 retail. (Annual savings: $837.48)

3. Substitute with lovastatin 40mg, an indirect generic alternative, for $51.30 retail. (Annual savings: $1,125.48)

4. Find lovastatin 40mg under the WalMart $4 generics program. (Annual savings: $1,693.08)

 

If that same patient were to skip the medication altogether, the savings in a year could be far outweighed by the potential cost of hospitalization or other measures resulting from an adverse event related to high cholesterol. Even with a traditional deductible-based health plan covering this care, someone (the employer or health plan sponsor, for example) is paying, and it will ultimately drive the cost of the health plan up. Over the long term, taking advantage of lower-cost alternatives can be a safer – and cheaper – bet.

 

1. SOURCE: DestinationRx Drug Compare™

2. Always consult a physician before changing a prescribed drug regimen.

Top 10 Searched Drugs on DRx.com - October 2008

The above chart illustrates the potential annual savings for the top ten searched drugs on www.drx.com should consumers switch to the lowest-cost option.

Average Cost of Common Hypertension Medications - October 2008

Over the next several months, we will be tracking the average cost of several top hypertension medications.  This chart shows average pricing across four major retailers for both brand and generic options; each month the line graph will grow illustrating trends within the drug category as they  emerge.

DestinationRx Tool Drives Drug Conversions, Leads to Significant Savings

A recent Forrester study showed continued growth in the number of times consumers using the DestinationRx Drug Compare™ tool switched from higher to lower-cost options – reflecting a growing affinity for the technology and underscoring its value in driving greater savings for consumers, plans and payers alike. 

Conversions were defined as choosing a lower-cost option, either via a therapeutic alternative or a different retailer.  The rate of conversion nearly doubled from the first to fourth quarters of 2007, with a total of 440,000 conversions occurring in the fourth quarter alone.

Within the study, two groups of consumers were examined to determine the effectiveness of the Drug Compare tool.   The group using the tool showed a 14% conversion rate, compared to only 9% conversion in a control group of similar average age that did not use the tool.   This 5% difference in conversion rate, at an annual out-of-pocket savings of $171 per drug – assuming an average of one drug per covered life – translates into $8.6 million in savings per million lives covered. And the true benefit of lower-cost alternatives is very likely to be significantly higher for the senior population due to higher drug usage.

A clear difference in the rate of conversion was also seen between consumers who received communication about the tool (5.5%) and those who did not (3.6%).  The better we can communicate with the public about drug pricing and raise awareness of their options as consumers – and the tools available to explore those options – the greater the ultimate cost savings will be. 

[SOURCE: Forrester, May 1, 2008]

Cost of Statins, October 2008

The above chart compares pricing for statin Zocor and available therapeutic alternatives among several popular retailers.

Top 10 Searched Drugs on DRx.com September 2008

The above chart illustrates the potential annual savings for the top ten searched drugs on www.drx.com should consumers switch to the lowest-cost option.

Average Cost of Common Hypertension Medications

Over the next several months, we will be tracking the average cost of several top hypertension medications.  This chart shows average pricing across four major retailers for both brand and generic options; each month the line graph will grow illustrating trends within the drug category as they  emerge.

Avoiding the Donut Hole: A Win-Win

A recent study by DestinationRx examined the potential cost savings Medicare Part D enrollees can expect when choosing generic alternatives to popular brand name drugs.  Highlights of the study include:

• The majority of brand drugs used by Part D enrollees have lower cost alternatives.
• The average Part D enrollee with osteoarthritis, GERD, high cholesterol, and hypertension would save an average of 88%, or $4,461.36 annually when optimizing their drugs using the DestinationRx Drug Compare Tool.
• A senior taking all brand name drugs would have reached the donut hole when enrolled in each one of the five healthplans used in the study.  However, when a senior uses the optimized drugs, they would have completely avoided the donut hole.

As seniors maximize their savings in this scenario, it is also a win-win for PBMs, who generally see greater profits when consumers choose generic alternatives as well as increased sales as patients improve compliance with their drug regimens, and for plan sponsors, who may save on costs in the long term when members stay healthy through better (and more consistent) management of their chronic conditions.

Download full text version of the 2008 Donut Hole Study.