Express Scripts: Generics saved $5.2B in
Greater use of generic drugs dramatically slowed the growth in prescription drug costs last year, saving an estimated $5.2 billion for commercially insured Americans and benefit plan sponsors, according to a study of Express Scripts' clients released Friday.
In 2007, the average cost of a prescription increased by $1.09 to $54.34, up from $53.25 in 2006, according to a release from the pharmacy benefit management firm. The cost per prescription would have increased by $3.58, to $56.83, without the "generic effect," the company said.
The total spending increase also was influenced by a 2.5 percent increase in usage and a 7.4 percent increase in the average price of a brand drug. The average price of a generic drug decreased 3.1 percent, Express Scripts said.
The category of cholesterol-lowering drugs, the nation's most-used drug category, saw the biggest impact from generics, according to Express Scripts. Known as statins or anti-hyperlipidemics, those drugs cost 15.5 percent less in 2007, averaging $67.32 per prescription versus $79.48 in 2006. After accounting for a 7.5 percent increase in usage, the "generic effect" reduced total spending on cholesterol-lowering drugs by 9 percent, Express Scripts said.
By the end of last year, 48.9 percent of all prescriptions for a cholesterol-lowering drug at Express Scripts were for a generic. Overall, 63.7 percent of all prescriptions at Express Scripts were for a generic last year, the company said.
In 2007, total spending on prescription drugs grew 4.7 percent, which Express Scripts said was the slowest growth it has ever reported, versus 5.9 percent in 2006 and a high of 15.9 percent in 2000 and 2001 bad credit payday loans.
In calculating drug trends, Express Scripts said it includes both member copayments and plan sponsor costs to evaluate total cost. The company said it also accounts for changes in usage, the relative rates of usage, price inflation, units per prescription, and changes in the mix of chemical entities and dosage forms used.
The company said the data set it used for its report included a sample of its clients in 2006-'07. The sample included plan sponsors offering funded, fully integrated prescription benefits within the commercially insured market whose enrollment did not change by more than 50 percent between 2006 and 2007. Members receiving prescriptions through Medicaid and Medicare Part D were excluded. From the client sample, researchers randomly selected about 3 million members from those enrolled at any time in 2006-'07 for analysis. The company plans to later release a more comprehensive review of 2007 prescription trends in its annual Drug Trend Report.
St. Louis-based Express Scripts Inc. (Nasdaq: ESRX) is one of the largest pharmacy benefit managers in the country providing services to more than 55 million people. It has about 3,000 employees in the St. Louis area.