As policymakers seek to respond to concerns about high drug costs, a recent report may provide a path forward. The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) provides independent expert advice to Congress on Medicare payment policies and in a recent report to Congress, it recommends key changes to the Part D program that could serve as a foundation for sustainable savings through generic and biosimilar adoption.
KC, 73, of Seattle, Wash., has worked as a journalist for most of her career. Years ago, on a birthday trip to Chicago, KC found herself in the emergency room with a diagnosis of “off the charts” high blood pressure. Her doctor prescribed a few generic medicines that help her manage her condition.
“It’s just not an issue for me anymore,” KC says. “I’m on Medicare, and when I pick up my prescriptions, it doesn’t cost me anything. That’s a pretty good deal.”
In 2020, safe, effective, FDA-approved generic and biosimilar prescription medicines generated $338 billion in savings for U.S. patients and the health care system as a whole. No matter what condition you treat with generics or biosimilars, you can take these medicines with confidence. Here are condition-specific examples.
Greg, 37, of Los Angeles, Cal., spends most of his time hiking, running and lifting weights, but his greatest passion in life is pizza. Not long ago, he made a bet with his wife that he could eat pizza and nothing but pizza for 45 days. As if that weren’t unusual enough, you should know that Greg has a history of ulcerative colitis.
Steroids were not controlling his condition, so his gastroenterologist put him on a biologic medication. After a while, his insurance plan recommended switching to a biosimilar—a safe, effective alternative to a brand-name biologic.
The Senate Finance Committee (SFC) convened a hearing March 16 titled, “Prescription Drug Price Inflation: An Urgent Need to Lower Drug Prices in Medicare.” AAM submitted a statement outlining concrete approaches to providing savings for seniors through policies to increase competition in the prescription drug market.
Eileen, 28, lives in New York City and is pursuing her dream of a career in musical theater. Her stage credits keep growing, and thanks to her biosimilar medication, her Crohn’s disease isn’t getting in the way.
Tens of millions of Americans entrust their health to generics and biosimilars. This publication introduces you to some of them.
According to the latest U.S. Generic and Biosimilar Medicines Savings Report, Americans who took generics and biosimilars saved $338 billion in health care costs in 2020 and nearly $2.4 trillion in the last decade. These medicines provide budgetary relief throughout the U.S. health care system, and taxpayers in all 50 states benefit from the savings generated for Medicare and Medicaid enrollees. On average, states saved $6.6 billion from the use of generics and biosimilars in 2020.
Something is wrong when America’s patients pay the same or more for an FDA-approved generic version of a high-priced brand drug. It’s even worse when those costs go up each year. Generics provide competition for expensive brand drugs and savings for patients. In 2020 alone, generics and biosimilars have saved the Medicare program $109.6 billion.1
At a moment when policymakers are contemplating measures to reduce drug prices for America’s patients, AAM’s 2021 U.S. Generic and Biosimilar Medicines Savings Report, featuring data from IQVIA, breaks the savings down by state, age, payer, common medical conditions and more.
Because tens of millions of Americans entrust their health to generics and biosimilars, they saved $338 billion in 2020, and nearly $2.4 trillion in the last decade.
Some key figures: