For Generic Manufactures, New Medicare Drug Pricing Demo Is a Dud

The proposed CMS innovation center's $2 drug list model will not address the barriers to newer generics getting on Part D formularies and plans may have little incentive to participate in the demo, an industry group said.

close up of a US $2 bill — CMS announces potential list of generics for proposed Part D demonstration. • Source: Shutterstock

The US Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation’s plan to reduce drug costs by giving Medicare Part D beneficiaries access to select generic drugs for up to $2 a month did not receive a warm reception from the generic industry, largely because it is seen as focusing on drugs that are already firmly entrenched and not incentivizing better coverage of newer follow-on products.

Key Takeaways

New information on Medicare’s $2 generic drug copay innovation center model did not excite the generic drug industry because the list is dominated by medicines that are already highly genericized.

“If CMS were to implement this, it would apply only to a select list of older, largely commoditized generics,” the...