On November 30th, 2011, the U.S patent on Pfizer Inc’s drug, Lipitor, expired. This enables generic versions of the medication to go on sale. Depending on your insurance carrier, patients may have to switch to the generic brand, which could result in a lower payment for the drug. Please review the following article from the Wall Street Journal for detailed information: A User’s Guide as Lipitor Goes on Sale.
What this means…
FOR BLUE SHIELD MEMBERS
- The generic copay applies, with the purchase of the generic version of Lipitor
- Members have the option available to continue with the brand name drug, though additional costs will be applied
FOR ANTHEM MEMBERS FOLLOWING A TIERED STRUCTURE
- The generic brand of Lipitor will be added to tier 1 and will begin processing with a tier 1 copayment
- Lipitor will continue to process on tier 2
- When a second generic brand is released, Lipitor will then move to tier 3
FOR ANTHEM MEMBERS NOT FOLLOWING A TIERED STRUCTURE
- The generic copay applies, with the purchase of the generic version of Lipitor
- Members have the option available to continue with the brand name drug, though additional costs will be applied
** For specific questions pertaining to your plan, please contact us.