Wolters Kluwer Health, a division of Wolters Kluwer, has released the results of a study that looks at key statistical outcomes of the Medicare Part D (MPD) prescription drug program.
After conducting a comprehensive comparative analysis of 2007 MPD prescription drug claims to commercial plan claims, the company compiled a whitepaper with some compelling statistical revelations about the program's impact on both patients and pharmaceutical companies. All in all, it bears clear evidence of a growing affinity for generics and a continual slide away from brands. The publicly accessible whitepaper is posted on the company's website at www.wkhealth.com.
The study's aim was to measure how much impact the MPD coverage gap had on treatment decisions. In the end, it found that once a patient enters the coverage gap and has to pay all out-of-pocket expenses for a prescription there emerges a profound preference for generics over brands. For example, prior to January 2006 when the MDP program commenced, the generic-to-brand ratio was even with 50% of MPD patients overall using generics and 50% using brands. By the end of 2006, within the MPD population, that split increased to 56% for generics versus 43% for brands. But by 2007, that trend became even more pronounced with 63% of all MPD prescriptions going to generics versus 37% for brands - a split of more than 26 percentage points.
"Wolters Kluwer Health has been tracking Medicare Part D prescription data since the program's inception and we are now seeing a more pronounced shift away from branded medications towards generics," said Bob Jansen, Vice President of Managed Markets and Brand Analytics, Wolters Kluwer Health. "What's most striking though is the fact that of those who discontinue their branded drug therapy in the coverage gap, only 6% return to them after leaving the gap."
Using a statistical sampling of the "standard eligible" patient segment, the study suggests several outcomes that may not have been commonly anticipated. Highlights for 2007 include: