Estimating Savings Opportunities From Therapeutic Substitutions of High-Cost Generic Medications

IMPORTANCE: Use of generics is generally understood as a cost-saving practice. However, pharmacy benefit managers have an incentive to place higher-priced generic drugs on insurers’ drug formularies to profit by creating a large difference between the price negotiated with pharmacies and the price paid by insurers (what is known as spread pricing). OBJECTIVE: To examine price differentials and savings potential between high-cost generics and corresponding therapeutic alternatives of same clinical value and lower cost. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This cross-sectional analysis examined the top 1000 generics in Colorado’s all-payer claims database (CO-APCD) in 2019. High-cost generics and lower-cost generic therapeutic alternatives of same clinical value constituted the study sample. Data were analyzed from January 2019 to December 2019. EXPOSURES: Generic drug prices measured by transaction prices, average wholesale price (AWP), and national drug acquisition average cost (NADAC). MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Price differentials between the high-cost generics and the corresponding therapeutic alternatives. Levels of discounts and savings that could be achieved if the high-cost generics had been substituted by their therapeutic alternatives. RESULTS: This cross-sectional study of the top 1000 CO-APCD generics identified 45 high-cost products that had lower-cost therapeutic alternatives of same clinical value. Overall, high-cost generics were 15.6 times more expensive than their therapeutic alternatives (median values). If the lower-cost alternatives had been used, total spending would have been reduced from $7.5 million to $873 711, resulting in 88.3% savings. Most substitutions (28 of 45 [62.2]%) involved different dosage forms or different strengths of the same drug and provided mean (SD) discounts of 94.9% (3.8%) and 77.1% (19.9%), respectively. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In this study, replacing high-cost generics with lower-cost alternatives of same clinical value would produce savings of nearly 90%. Plan sponsors should be aware that some generics are associated with higher spending and should periodically review the specific products driving their generic drug spending. Substitution of high-cost generics may provide a simple pathway to offer the same therapeutic benefit at lower cost to patients and insurers.