The Blue Plan Experienced a 15 Percent Increase in Prescription Drug

Costs in 2007, According to a New Report from HealthLeaders-InterStudy



    NASHVILLE, Tenn., July 21 /EMWNews/ -- HealthLeaders-InterStudy, a

leading provider of managed care market intelligence, reports that Excellus

BlueCross BlueShield will continue to promote generic medication use

through pharmacy programs and public education efforts. According to the

new report entitled Blue Profiler: New York--Excellus BlueCross BlueShield,

in 2007 the Blue Plan saw prescription drug costs increase 15 percent, with

federal employee prescription costs tripling from 2006 to 2007. To curb

these rising prescription costs, Excellus has utilized proprietary research

along with public relations campaigns to highlight the cost savings of

generic medication use over brand name drugs.



    "Generic medication promotion will certainly help Excellus manage its

pharmacy spend moving forward," stated Chris Lewis, market analyst at

HealthLeaders-InterStudy and author of the report. "Excellus has used

research and health trend tracking across its region as one way to

differentiate itself from its competitors. In fact, results from an

Excellus-initiated study demonstrated that switching to generic medications

saved Upstate New Yorkers $227 million in 2007."



    The report finds that generic medication use is encouraged through the

Blue Plan's Generic Trial program, which provides patients with a free

30-day supply of medication when the prescription is first filled.

Additionally, the Generic Advantage program requires a member choosing a

brand name over the generic equivalent to pay the generic copay, plus the

difference between the pharmacy's charge for the brand drug and its price

for the generic.



    Lewis continued, "Excellus' public education and pharmacy programs have

helped generate a 60 percent generic fill rate across Upstate New York, up

from 53 percent in 2005."



    Blue Profiler: New York--Excellus BlueCross BlueShield is one of 15

Blue Profiler reports for 2008 on the nation's largest nonprofit Blue Cross

Blue Shield plans, which together insure more than 50 million people.

    About Blue Profiler



    Blue Profiler offers the most comprehensive analysis of the nonprofit

Blue Cross Blue Shield plans. Each report focuses on an individual

nonprofit Blue plan and includes valuable analysis that will allow

companies to more effectively partner with these dominant organizations.

Each report includes information on:



    -- Competitive analysis



    -- Enrollment trends



    -- Company-wide financials



    -- HMO financials



    -- Consumer-driven products



    -- Medicare strategy



    -- Pharmacy



    -- Disease Management



    About HealthLeaders-InterStudy



    HealthLeaders-InterStudy, a company of Decision Resources, Inc., is the

authoritative source for managed care data and analysis. For more

information, please visit http://www.HealthLeaders-InterStudy.com.



    All company, brand, or product names contained in this document may be

trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.



    For more information, contact:



    Elizabeth Marshall



    Decision Resources,



    781-296-2563



    [email protected]