Co-pays to rise on 9 more Tricare drugs

[unhappycamper]

Co-pays to rise on 9 more Tricare drugs
By Chuck Vinch - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Oct 26, 2007 15:36:24 EDT

The Defense Department is moving nine more medications to its highest price tier, which means they will cost Tricare beneficiaries $22 per prescription, officials announced Friday.

The medications that will move to Tricare’s $22 “third tier” are the allergy drugs Clarinex, Clarinex-D and Veramyst; the asthma drug Zyflo; and the growth hormones Genotropin, Genotropin Miniquick, Humatrope and Omnitrope.

The growth hormones and Veramyst will move to the third tier Dec. 19, with Clarinex, Clarinex-D and Zyflo following Jan. 16.

The announcement is the latest in a series of changes to the Tricare formulary in recent years aimed at encouraging beneficiaries to use less costly generic drugs when possible.

Prescriptions for medications in the formulary — the official list of drugs offered through the Tricare Pharmacy Program — listed on the third tier carry a beneficiary co-payment of $22, regardless of whether the drug is purchased at a Tricare network retail pharmacy or through the Mail-Order Pharmacy Program.

In contrast, the co-pay for first-tier medications — generic drugs — is $3 for a 90-day supply if purchased through the mail, and the same for a 30-day supply purchased at a Tricare network retail pharmacy.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2007/10/military_tricare_formularychanges_071026w/