For example, those customers who take Pfizer’s Viagra, a well-known medication for erectile dysfunction, can still find the drug on CVS shelves, but the company will no longer help with the cost.
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CVS is dropping more than two dozen prescription drugs from its list of covered medicines next year, including Viagra.
Sanford C. Bernstein analyst Geoffrey Porges “calls the coverage exclusions a “potent weapon” for pharmacy benefit managers, Loftus writes. CVS drugstores will still stock Viagra and insurance plans using Express Scripts, CVS/Caremark’s larger competitor, will still cover it. Or flush devotees can pay full price.
Other drugs off the CVS list are: Biogen (BIIB)’s multiple sclerosis treatments Avonex and Plegridy; Johnson & Johnson (JNJ)’S diabetes drugs Invokana and Invokamet, Vivus (VVUS)’s weight loss drug Qsymia; and diabetes drug Bydureon, manufactured by Amylin Pharmaceuticals and commercialized by Astrazeneca (AZN, AZN.L). The pharmacist said clinically she did not like restricting patients. “There are some patients that might have some small reaction to one brand versus the next”, said Chin. She added that older patients are highly likely to face troubles from changes in medications as they might be used to a certain pill of a size and shape.
Some even panic if the medication is changed within the same manufacturer as they will call and say they received the wrong drugs.
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CVS said in a statement that equally effective products with lower overall costs will still be available for those drugs that are removed.
