New evidence gives further weight to the belief that, with education on generic medication options, employees will change behavior, yielding cost savings for employers.
For example, CVS Caremark found in their recent 2010 Insights Report that employers are avoiding shifting costs to their employees by enhancing education around generic medication.
By sharing information around cost-saving measures in pharmacy utilization, the CVS Caremark Book of Business generic dispensing rate (GDR) increased to 68.2% (from 65.1% in 2008), despite a lack of significant generic drug introductions in 2009.
Apparently this education has paid off as plan sponsors made few changes to member contribution levels last year, with member contribution actually declining from 19% in 2008 to 15.7% in 2009.
Instead, employers have taken proactive steps by targeting classes with generic opportunities through plan design and coordinating member and physician outreach, which can push GDR dramatically—as high as 90% for proton pump inhibitors, finds CVS Caremark.
Others used preferred drug strategies and the pharmacy health care provider’s Specialty Guideline Management program. In addition, many clients who have achieved promising results addressed the problem with evidence-based plan design or medication therapy counseling for specific conditions.
These tactics appear to have succeeded as, according to Harris Poll results between October 2006 and December 2008, the proportion of adults who would choose generic drugs over brand name drugs increased from 68% to 81%. Further, consumers have, and will continue to have, more opportunity to choose generics.
Between 2004 and 2008, brand name products with combined annual sales of approximately $71 billion lost market exclusivity and from 2010 to 2015, brand drugs with combined sales of more than $100 billion are expected to go off-patent.
Experts at CVS Caremark predict that as generics in top therapeutic categories are introduced into the marketplace, generics will account for about 80% of prescriptions dispensed by 2012.
This marks good news for employers who are determinedly seeking proactive measures to transform employees into consumers by using generics over brand name drugs. Continued education around the financial benefits and safety of generics will only further allow employers to lower costs, thereby saving them and their workers capital.
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