AAM reacts to Avalere study on generic drug costs
The Association for Accessible Medicines president and CEO Dan Leonard released the following statement in response to a new analysis by healthcare consulting firm Avalere, showing that generic drugs continue to be misplaced on higher formulary tiers, unfairly driving up costs for patients.
“Many patients are spending far more than necessary on generic drugs. This new study released by Avalere, and supported by AAM, is further evidence of the financial burden patients face from high health plan co-pays for generic drugs,” Leonard said.
[Read more: Challenges continue, but generics companies see a bright future with biosimilars]
“The analysis found that patient spending on old generic drugs increased by more than $11 billion (more than 135%) from 2011 to 2019,” Leonard said. “This increase was overwhelmingly driven by health plan and PBM decisions to place generics on non-generic formulary tiers, even as the prices for those generics declined. It is vital that policymakers recognize the systemic drug pricing manipulation at work and help ensure that patients benefit from the full value of lower generic prices.”
[Read more: Avalere analysis examines Medicare Part D's plan tier placement of generics]