As far as semantics go, therapeutics sound more appealing than generics, but researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles are saying that the switch may be worth it in more ways than just wordage.
According to a recent study, therapeutic drugs have the capacity to double, maybe even triple, cost savings when it comes to Medicare Part D plans, an enterprise serving nearly 28 million people already. By utilizing therapeutic substitutions and even generic substitutions in treating beneficiaries -- who, on average, fill anywhere from five to 30 prescriptions a year -- cost reduction could be seen across realms, from out-of-pocket and health plan charges to government subsidy costs.
Led by O. Kenrik Duru, MD, the study team analyzed data from 145,056 low-income subsidy beneficiaries and 1,040,030 non-low-income subsidy beneficiaries who enrolled with a Part D health insurer during 2007. Approximately half of the overall beneficiary pool qualified for generic and/or therapeutic substation. For patients given generic substitution, annual savings from $127 to $160 were observed. Meanwhile, for patients given therapeutic substitution, annual savings amounted to $389 to $454, a twofold, at times threefold, increase in savings over even generic options.
"While drug costs differ across health systems and vary over time, these findings indicate the importance of examining generic and therapeutic substitutions as a next step to lowering drug costs within Medicare. Since Medicare is unable to negotiate volume purchasing discounts for medication, these substitution approaches represent an alternative cost-control strategy. Ultimately, however, both physicians and patients will need to make informed decisions about the various tradeoffs associated with those substitutions," the authors wrote.
The study was published in the latest edition of the Journal of General Internal Medicine.