Lipitor vs. Generics
by Julie Schmit

As employers look to cut prescription drug costs, some consumers are finding Lipitor, the world's most popular drug, harder and more expensive to get. However, the price online is still low-cost.

The leading anti-cholesterol drug is under pressure as employers push for use of lower-cost generics...
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In June, No. 2 anti-cholesterol drug Zocor went generic, setting up Lipitor's first big generic challenge.

Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs, a part of Consumers Union, estimates 20 million Americans take anti-cholesterol drugs, or statins. It also estimates about 60 percent of people who take brand-name drugs -- Lipitor, Zocor, Vytorin and Crestor -- and take less than 40 milligrams a day, could safely take one of three generics and should talk to their doctors about doing so. Buy cheap Lipitor online.

Employers Pushing Hard for Change
That adds up to potential savings of US$7 billion to $11 billion a year, it says, and presents one of the biggest ways to curtail drug costs. General Motors (NYSE: GM)  spends $200 million a year on statins for the 1.1 million people it insures. If all statin users switched to a generic, costs would drop to $82 million, the company says. GM wants people to ask their doctors if they can safely switch.

To enourage employees to make the change to a generic, employers are trying a variety of approaches, starting with raising Lipitor costs. In January, Oregon's Public Employees' Benefit Board, covering 120,000 Oregon employees and dependents, increased out-of-pocket costs for Lipitor users to $50 per monthly prescription, or half of the cost. That was up from $25 last year. Exceptions are allowed if doctors can prove that a particular patient needs Lipitor. The cost then: $15 a prescription.

In the first quarter, the group's Lipitor costs fell to $165,000 from $742,000 a year earlier, says benefits manager Jean Thorne. Spending on generic lovastatin -- available for almost five years but not widely used -- rose to $129,000 from $31,000. Buy cheap Lipitor online.

The savings may offset increases in drug costs next year for the group, says David Clark, vice president of Regence, which oversees four BlueCross BlueShield plans with 3 million members. He says the average price paid by a pharmacy for a statin is about $2.50 a day. Generics could cut that to 30 cents by early next year, which means big savings for consumers.

Adding Hurdles
Another tack employers are taking to move their employees off Lipitor is making the choice of that drug over a generic a harder one to make. Since Jan. 1, Carolina Care Plan, with 72,000 employees, has required new statin users to try a generic or Zocor before they get others. It also raised out-of-pocket Lipitor costs, from $20 a prescription to $50.

Jim Shelley, director of pharmacy operations, says 35 percent of the plan's Lipitor users switched, most to Zocor. Now that Zocor has a generic, those patients will get that and Carolina Care will save. Shelley expects savings of 10 percent on drug costs next year because of switching. Buy cheap Lipitor online.

Meanwhile, Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) is countering with new Lipitor ads and free trial offers. It says studies show Lipitor is better at lowering cholesterol and the risk of heart disease and stroke for all patients. Consumers Union suggests Lipitor for high-risk people.

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