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Medicare Part D: Cost Implications of Switching to Cost-Effective Drugs January 2006
Screen shot of a bar chart comparing Medicare Part D costs for using Best Buy recommended drugs versus alternate drugs. The data shown is as follows:
| Plan Type |
Best Buy Drugs |
Alternate Drugs |
| Lowest Cost Plan |
$216 |
$2,771 |
| Average Cost Plan |
$949 |
$4,814 |
| Highest Cost Plan |
$1,302 |
$6,335 |
Notes
Chart shows alternatives in Sacramento
Large potential savings for Medicare beneficiaries!
In this analysis, we looked at 5 common categories of drugs (e.g. NSAIDS, statins, CCB, ACE, anti-depressants
In 6 zip codes, compared the total annual costs for 2 sets of drug choices: 1 set used high-priced drugs in each category; 2nd set used BBDrugs.
Potential savings were huge—we found that Medicare beneficiaries could save in range of about $2300 to $5000 by switching to BBDs
Enough for these people to avoid the doughnut
Enough savings to pay premium—if just one category switch
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