If costly generics were replaced with cheaper generics that have the same clinical value, total spending could have slimmed by nearly 90 percent, Johns Hopkins researchers found.
Two researchers from Johns Hopkins and one researcher from Integrity Pharmaceutical Advisors evaluated the top 1,000 generics in Colorado's 2019 payer claims. That year, generics cost payers $7.5 million, but if all generic costs were created equal, that figure would have dropped to $873,711, an 88.3 percent decline, they found.
Among the 1,000 generics, 45 of them "had lower-cost therapeutic alternatives of same clinical value," according to the study, which was published Nov. 2 in JAMA. Of those 45 drugs, the most expensive generics were 15.6 times more costly than their alternatives.
Since patients require a provider's note to receive a cheaper generic, the study's authors concluded that insurers and plan sponsors should adjust their formularies to achieve the projected savings, which was about $6.6 million in 2019.