PCMA: Generics, Mail-Service Pharmacy Recognized as Ways to Reduce Costs for TRICARE Program

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Pharmaceutical Care Management Association

Feb 15, 2011, 04:22 ET

WASHINGTON, Feb. 15, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA) President and CEO Mark Merritt released the following statement on the Pentagon's new budget proposal which includes a provision encouraging TRICARE members to use generic medications and mail-service pharmacies to save money:

"The Pentagon's budget proposal for the TRICARE program recognizes that increasing the use of generics and mail-service pharmacies reduces costs and enhances access to prescription drugs for military members and their families. Over the last decade, the dispensing of generic drugs has saved the American health care system more than $824 billion, with savings of $139.6 billion in 2009 alone.

"Numerous government and peer-reviewed studies have confirmed that mail-service pharmacies lower costs for consumers and payers, make far fewer errors, and increase medication adherence for those suffering from chronic conditions. Home delivery of prescription medications is also an added benefit for consumers who appreciate the added convenience and access to private counseling from a trained clinician seven days a week, 24 hours a day."

PCMA represents the nation's pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), which improve affordability and quality of care through the use of electronic prescribing (e-prescribing), generic alternatives, mail-service pharmacies, and other innovative tools for 200-plus million Americans.

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SOURCE Pharmaceutical Care Management Association