Medco Medicare Part D Plan Provides Access to Low-Cost Generics

Medicarel Part D and Generic Drugs

Cost-conscious seniors seeking the lowest cost generic medicines need not battle holiday shoppers looking to take advantage of a price promotion. Low-cost generics can be found in Medco's Medicare Prescription Drug plan, Medco YOURx PLAN(TM), which offers more generics at a lower cost than even the most-widely touted superstore's retail pricing promotion.

Medicare beneficiaries covered under Medco YOURx PLAN have access to more than 2000 generic medications and pay only $5 for a 90-day supply when they use Medco's mail-order pharmacy.

"The Medco YOURx PLAN formulary provides access to six times the number of generics currently available through the limited pricing promotions marketed by the largest retail superstores and drug chains, and less than half the cost of an equivalent day's supply," said Mary Daschner, RPh, Medco's Senior Vice President, Senior Solutions. "No waiting, no lines and no ugly surprises."

"The heavily promoted retail pricing promotions are largely restricted to older, already low-cost medicines. With Medco YOURx PLAN, it's $5 for a 90- day supply - even if it's the latest blockbuster to become available in generic form."

For example, in the category of cholesterol-busting medicines known as statins, the largest retail superstores include primarily older medicines, such as lovastatin and pravastatin. Medco's $5 generics program includes simvastatin - the generic for Zocor - which is the newest statin and most clinically effective in terms of lowering LDL, or bad cholesterol, currently available in a generic form.

"Seniors no longer have to make tradeoffs between quality and price. Medco's YOURx PLAN offers higher-quality, lower-cost and no-compromise pharmacy care," said Daschner.

Medco YOURx PLAN, which is an approved, national prescription drug program under Medicare Part D, provides Medicare beneficiaries broad coverage on more than 3,000 medications, access to more than 2,000 pharmacists, available 24/7, a retail pharmacy network of more than 50,000 pharmacies, and Savings Advisors who provide free consultations and work with members' doctors to save them the most money under the plan.

In addition to cost-savings, beneficiaries enrolled in Medco YOURx PLAN have access to an increased level of patient safety, including drug utilization review and other clinical safety programs. Additionally, all Medco YOURx PLAN members are covered under Medco's Polypharmacy Safety Program, which helps reduce the risk of adverse events associated with the use of multiple prescriptions prescribed by multiple physicians and filled by multiple pharmacies - a scenario that substantially increases the risk of medication errors. A recent analysis by Medco found that seniors cared for by five doctors have a 60 percent greater risk of an adverse medication event than those seen by only two doctors.

When a patient is identified as being at risk through the Polypharmacy program, the system generates an alert report for prescribing physicians with a complete list of the patient's current prescription drug regimen and history, and, to help facilitate better communications between the medical team, the names and contact information of all prescribing physicians.