Retail Price of Imatinib Negotiated By Medicare Part D Plans with National or Regional Coverage at Large Chain and Mail Order Pharmacies

Title

Retail price of imatinib negotiated by Medicare Part D plans with national or regional coverage at large chain and mail order pharmacies

Background

Direct-to-consumer pharmacies or websites such as Cost Plus or GoodRx has made imatinib more affordable even without prescription drug coverage. Wholesale acquisition cost (WAC) or list price is often used to compare drug prices. However, the pharmacy retail price negotiated by prescription drug plans and pharmacies is more relevant to patient as it directly impacts out-of-pocket costs and affects decisions on how to acquire oral cancer medications. The price of imatinib for Medicare beneficiaries through different Part D prescription drug plans is variable and not well known.

Methods

Part D Plan Finder was used to identify Medicare drug' plans offered in Portland, OR at zip code 97239. The monthly retail price of imatinib 400 mg was compared for all available Part D plans for a representative list of nationwide and regional large chain pharmacies (Walgreens, CVS, Rite Aid, Safeway) and for mail order pharmacy. The premium and deductible for each drug plan was extracted. The highest and lowest retail price available for each drug plan and the drug cost for first, second and third fill for each retail price was extracted. This drug cost of imatinib was compared to the out-of-pocket cost of imatinib available from Cost Plus pharmacy and GoodRx in zip code 97239.

Results

Nine insurance companies offered 24 drug plans in July, 2023. The premium ranged from $1.6 to $113 and the deductible was $0 to $505. All insurance companies offered 2-3 plans with low premium/high deductible or high premium/low deductible. Plans were categorized to low deductible plans (less than $100), medium deductible plans ($100 to $300) and high deductible plans (more than $300). There were 19 high deductible plans. The median retail price was $4340 (IQR 945-5467). The median drug cost for the patient at first fill was $1464 (IQR 583-1745). There were 4 low deductible plans with median retail price of $823 (IQR 187-6419) and median drug cost at first fill of $275 (IQR 61-1971). There was one medium deductible plan and the retail price was $4374 and patient drug cost at first fill was $1425. The lowest retail price was $77 for Asuris Medicare Script Enhanced (PDP) if prescription was filled at Safeway. The highest retail price was $8881 for Elixir RxPlus (PDP) if prescription was filled at Safeway, CVS or Rite Aid. The monthly imatinib from Cost Plus is $33 (+$5 shipping). GoodRx offered coupons for Walgreens at $150, Rite Aid at $64, CVS at $789 and Safeway $90.

Conclusions

The retail price of imatinib for patients with Medicare Part D drug plan is highly variable depending on the drug plan and filling pharmacy and the out-of-pocket drug cost is often higher than the cost of buying imatinib at Cost Plus by mail order or at the same pharmacy using a GoodRx coupon.