So what about that donut hole? How much has change it been causing?

Wolters Kluwer Health has some new findings on the market impact of the Medicare Part D program after a conducting a statistical analysis. For those who don’t remember, by the way, the hole refers to the $2,850 coverage gap. Here are some findings:

- A total of 32 percent, or 4.2 million Medicare Part D standard eligibles entered the donut hole by the end of the year;

- Generic utilization was much higher in Medicare Part D versus the commercial population with generics garnering 4 percent to 5 percent more market share compared with brands;

- Medicare Part D induced demand by 1.6 percent out of 4.3 percent total prescription growth;

- Patients taking multiple brand drugs entered the donut hole earlier;

- Increased discontinuation of medication or switching to generics was noted

- Of the top 10 most prescribed therapeutic classes, therapies where patients were least likely to drop or switch to a generic were beta blockers, thyroid hormones and diabetes;

- Therapies where enrollees were likely to discontinue or switch include anti-ulcerants and diuretics;

- The Medicare co-pay cycle remained more volatile than commercial co-pays due to how the benefit is administered;

- The Medicare co-pay also was on average $10 to $15 more or 35 percent to 52 percent higher than commercial co-pays for standard eligibles.

A link will be provided as soon as one is available.

[tags]Generics, Medicare Part D, Wolters Kluwer Health[/tags]