Editorial: A cure for addiction to brands

Thursday, April 10, 2003 | 9:03 a.m.

A bill that passed the Commerce and Labor Committee in the state Senate this week would greatly reduce the state's cost for prescription drugs. The costs are incurred under Medicaid, a health-care program for low-income, aged and disabled people whose expenses are covered by the state and federal governments. The bill has the added benefit of guaranteeing potential savings for consumers who are paying out of their own pockets. Even insurance companies stand to benefit.

Senate Bill 387, sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Dina Titus, affects prescriptions that doctors write for brand-name drugs. If a government agency is paying for the drug, the bill would mandate that pharmacists substitute the least expensive generic drug available. The bill makes it clear that the substitute must contain the identical active ingredient and that the recipient be informed of the substitution. This could save the state millions, as the average cost of a brand-name drug is almost four times higher than that of a generic drug.

Nevada has spent almost $140 million over the past two years on prescription drugs for individuals covered directly by Medicaid, and millions more for the 60,000 patients who are covered by health maintenance organizations under Medicaid. Doctors frequently specify brand names on their prescriptions. Without permission to do otherwise, pharmacists must fill them as written. The new law would not exclude those receiving government subsidies from receiving brand-name drugs when doctors feel they are necessary. It allows doctors to call pharmacists or provide them with a handwritten note, ordering that a brand-name drug be dispensed. But it would end the indiscriminate use of brand names when generics would suffice.

The law would also require pharmacists to notify consumers paying with private funds about any availability of a less expensive generic drug. Consumers paying privately would have the option of choosing the generic drug or buying the brand name. This offers them the opportunity to save themselves and their insurance companies a significant amount of money. In this age of soaring health-care costs, many of which are borne by the public, SB387 makes good sense. It offers the potential for savings with no lessening of care.