UnitedHealthcare Pharmacy

Generic Lipitor Launch

The generic form of Lipitor (atorvastatin), a medication used to treat high cholesterol, launched on Nov.30. Because this is the first generic form of Lipitor, we expect at least a six month period of limited generic competition.

Limited generic competition means higher costs, so UnitedHealthcare Pharmacy's Prescription Drug List Management Committee decided to take the following actions effective Nov. 30:

• Place generic Lipitor in Tier 3 on both the Advantage and Traditional PDLs.
• Move brand Lipitor down to Tier 1 on the Traditional PDL*
• Keep brand Lipitor in Tier 2 on the Advantage PDL.

The majority of members will either pay the same (Advantage PDL) or less (Traditional PDL) than they are paying now.

Based on their plan design and costs, members have been notified that their lowest cost option is to stay on brand Lipitor. In addition, messaging at the point-of-sale will direct the pharmacist to dispense the lowest cost option for the member. An article in the Dec. 14 Broker Connection and Customer Connection links to our member-facing Lipitor flyer (PDF) and Pharmacy In Focus website for information on upcoming generics.

What next?

When the exclusivity period for the generic ends, we expect that more competition will enter the market and the price of the generic will likely drop. At that time, we will make any necessary PDL changes to place the lowest net cost medication in the lowest tier.

* While most Tier 1 medications are generic, this move provides the lowest net cost form of this medication.