AmeriHealth New Jersey Waives Copayments for Generic Drugs Through March 31, 2007

Members who switch from brand name to generics can save up to $40 a month

for each drug

    MOUNT LAUREL, N.J., Jan. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Many AmeriHealth New Jersey
 members will pay nothing for new prescriptions or refills for covered
 generics filled at participating retail pharmacies or by mail order from
 now through March 31, 2007. The goal of this first-ever promotion, called
 No Pay Copay, is to help members understand how the appropriate long-term
 use of generics can save them money while providing the same health
 benefits as brand-name drugs.
     "By waiving copays and lowering out-of-pocket costs, we will help
 educate our members that generics are a safe and cost-effective alternative
 to brand drugs," said Judith L. Roman, president and CEO of AmeriHealth New
 Jersey. "We anticipate that the savings members can enjoy from this
 promotion will encourage many to speak to their doctors about switching to
 less expensive generics. Members who do switch during the No Pay Copay
 promotion may even decide that continuing to use generic drugs in place of
 brand medications will be an important step in helping to lower their
 overall health expenses."
     Copayments or coinsurance will automatically be waived when an eligible
 AmeriHealth New Jersey member presents his or her generic prescription and
 member ID card at any of the participating AmeriHealth New Jersey network
 pharmacies during the first quarter of 2007. Copays or coinsurance for
 members who already take generic medications or who switch to generics will
 also be waived until March 31. For AmeriHealth members, the average monthly
 out-of-pocket savings for moving from a brand drug to an appropriate
 generic is $5 to $40, depending on the member's plan. However, during the
 No Pay Copay promotional period, members will pay nothing for generic
 prescriptions, saving even more.
     Prescription drug costs are one of the fastest-growing components of
 U.S. health care expenditures, accounting for $188.5 billion in 2004,
 according to a June 2006 report from the Kaiser Family Foundation. Last
 year, generics became available for several blockbuster drugs whose patents
 expired, including those for treating high cholesterol, insomnia,
 depression, and digestive disorders.
     "Generic drugs are identical in composition and quality to their brand-
 name counterparts and meet the same health and safety standards set by the
 U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)," said Dr. Allan B. Goldstein,
 AmeriHealth New Jersey's Vice President and Regional Medical Director. "But
 they typically cost 30 to 70 percent less than comparable brand-name drugs.
     "We will continue to cover a wide spectrum of FDA-approved brand and
 generic drugs in our formulary to provide members with ample choice in
 their drug benefit," said Goldstein. "However, our members will have more
 incentive to use generics since they'll spend more in copays and
 coinsurance for the brand drugs, both those that are in our formulary and
 those that are not, than they will for generics."
     Generics: Safe, cost-effective alternatives to brand drugs
     Indistinguishable in composition and quality to their brand-name
 counterparts, generic drugs may be used interchangeably with brand-name
 drugs to treat the identical health conditions. Generics, however, have
 significantly lower development and marketing costs than brand drugs and,
 as a result, will often cost a fraction of their brand-name equivalents.
 According to the Congressional Budget Office, generic drugs save consumers
 an estimated $8 to $10 billion a year at retail pharmacies with no
 sacrifice in quality or effectiveness.
     A pharmacist may dispense a generic equivalent for drugs that have both
 a brand and generic version available, unless a physician has prescribed a
 specific brand-name drug to be dispensed as written. A member who wants to
 try a generic can ask his or her doctor to consider writing a prescription
 for a drug with a generic equivalent, when appropriate. Most members with
 AmeriHealth New Jersey pharmacy benefits are eligible for the generic
 copay/coinsurance waiver. Not eligible for this program are members with
 Medicare Part D drug plans, or who are covered under integrated
 prescription drug plans such as Major Medical, Comprehensive Major Medical
 and AmeriHealth PPO HSA-Qualified, or HMO members who belong to the Federal
 Employee Health Benefits Program or the New Jersey State Health Benefit
 Plan.
     Members can get more information about the No Pay Copay promotion and
 generic drugs by visiting AmeriHealth's website at:
 http://www.amerihealth.com/news_events/announcements/nopay_copay/index.html
 .
     About AmeriHealth New Jersey
     AmeriHealth New Jersey is part of AmeriHealth, Inc., a growing group of
 health care plans based in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware, which
 has grown to more than 265,000 members since its inception in 1995.
     AmeriHealth New Jersey has been recognized for its commitment to
 providing high-quality products and service. AmeriHealth HMO of New Jersey
 has received the highest possible accreditation by the national leader in
 HMO quality evaluation, the National Committee for Quality Assurance
 (NCQA).
 
 

SOURCE AmeriHealth New Jersey