By Julie Rovner
WASHINGTON (Reuters Health) – More appropriate use of generic medications, particularly to treat ulcers and arthritis, could reduce the pricetag of a Medicare prescription drug benefit by more than 16%, according to a study released Thursday.
Such savings could cut the estimated cost of plans currently under consideration by $50 billion to $100 billion.
"Considerable savings can be achieved through use of generic medications at a rate that is currently being realized in private sector programs through the use of most effective generic incentive initiatives," according to the study, which was authored by researchers from the Schneider Institute for Health Policy at Brandeis University.
Researchers Stanley Wallack, Grant Ritter, and Cindy Thomas used data provided by AdvancePCS, the nation's largest pharmacy benefit management firm, to calculate what percentage of the drugs used by the Medicare-eligible population are dispensed as generics.
They found that boosting generic use to the level used by "benchmark" plans — roughly 50% — would reduce per-person drug spending from $1,647 to $1,377 and save a total of $250 billion between 2003 and 2012. "This makes a good benefit more feasible," Wallack said during a briefing held by the Generic Pharmaceutical Association, which sponsored the research.
The study found that nearly half the savings could come from increased used of generics to treat ulcers and arthritis – two conditions for which brandname drugs are now most heavily advertised.
Wallack said that the health plans with the best rates of generic use have tiered copayments that give consumers a financial incentive to use cheaper medicines. They also have comprehensive physician education programs, including "counter-detailing" efforts to demonstrate to practitioners that newer, more expensive drugs are not always better or more appropriate.
Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., who with Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., is sponsoring legislation that would make it easier for generics to get to market, said the study "will give impetus" to the measure, which is designed to make it more difficult for brandname drugmakers to delay generic competition.
Schumer said he has seen interest in the bill increase in recent months as legislators have started to come to grips with just how much the Medicare drug benefit they promised in the last election might cost. "If you can reduce the cost of such a plan by $100 billion" through better use of generics, Schumer said, "that is truly a significant savings."
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