Say What?

Study: Picking pricey brand name meds is driving up cost of the drug plan.

Seniors skip generic drugs if Medicare is paying

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26876755/

Medco is trying to convince me that those on Medicare are choosing the brand name drug if Medicare is paying and that is what is "likely" driving up the cost of the Medicare drug plan. Yeah, okay. Having firsthand knowledge of the Medicare drug plan and the infamous "doughnut hole," I really, REALLY doubt that's the case more often than not. Okay, there will be some seniors or other Medicare enrollees who choose the brand name. But those I know on Medicare have limited income and would be looking at paying (ballpark figures, as these amounts vary per specific drug plan) $5 per script for generic compared to $20 to $35 per script for brand, multiplied then by the number of different drugs taken per month. For anyone with a chronic condition, it adds up...and fast.

I know the argument is that seniors like to have the pill consistently look the same (generic shapes/sizes/colors vary depending on the company making the exact same drug) to avoid confusion. I get that. However, again, I think that for many, many more the overriding concern is the cost. Do I spend $20 a month for my four prescriptions in generic form or do I spend $140 a month for my four prescriptions in brand form? And, every month that you are paying that copay (generic or brand), the drug plan is taking the entire cost of the medication (what you pay AND what they pay - generic or brand) and counting it toward the initial limit where the gap or "doughnut hole" begins. Therefore, the more the medications cost (total of what you pay and what the "plan" pays), the quicker you reach the doughnut hole where, guess what, you pay it all, and past studies have indicated that seniors must then find ways around paying it all - drug assistance programs, cutting their dosage in half, or just doing without while in the doughnut hole. I've been there, done that.

I am not saying that there aren't folks out there actively choosing brand over generic for whatever reason (pill size/shape, doctor's specific instruction - DAW, better efficacy), but I just have a hard time believing that that occurs the majority of the time just because Medicare is paying. Please...