U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging advocates increased generic utilization
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging unveiled a new bipartisan report earlier this week that focuses on ways to increase the use of generic drugs within the Medicare Part D program.
In addition to the report, the committee is calling on the Government Accountability Office to examine what is behind recent price increases for certain generic drugs like heart medication digoxin, which has been on the market for years. The issue of generic drug price spikes has recently attracted attention from the Justice Department and the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Subcommittee on Primary Health and Aging.
Specifically, the Special Committee on Aging’s report outlines a series of policy recommendations that include:
Providing incentives to prescription drug plan sponsors who increase generics use;
Finding innovative ways to expand generic drug usage among low-income subsidy beneficiaries;
Increasing education of beneficiaries and health professionals on the safety, effectiveness and cost benefits of generic medications; and
Improving investigations of questionable pharmacy billing practices that thwart efforts to incentivize generics.
“We need to do everything we can to boost drug saving for beneficiaries and taxpayers,” stated committee Chairman Bill Nelson, D-Fla.
“Although the use of generic drugs has increased over time, more can be done to encourage appropriate use of generics in order to keep rising drug costs in check,” added Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, the panel’s ranking member. “For example, greater attention should be given to educating Medicare beneficiaries and healthcare professionals about the efficacy of generic drugs, and encouraging them to select generic drugs instead of brand-name drugs, when appropriate.”
“GPhA applauds the new findings of the Senate Special Committee on Aging and welcomes further conversation on increasing generic drug utilization in government programs, particularly Medicare Part D," commented Ralph Neas, president and CEO of the Generic Pharmaceutical Association. "One additional area that GPhA is hopeful that Congress will address in 2015 is the misuse of programs designed to protect patient safety, such as Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies. These tactics cost the U.S. health system $5.4 billion, according to Matrix Global Advisors," Neas noted. "That is why the association supports the bipartisan Fair Access for Safe and Timely (FAST) Generics Act, introduced by Congressman Steve Stivers, R-Ohio and Congressman Peter Welch, D-Vt., which would limit brand drug company maneuvers that misuse REMS and thwart competition from more affordable generics."
The committee’s findings were part of a comprehensive two-year review that analyzed drug plan formularies, pharmacy billing, physician prescribing practices and plan sponsor programs to incentivize generics use.
The report can be found at http://www.aging.senate.gov/download/generic-drugs-report.