CVS is dropping more than two dozen prescription drugs from its list of covered medicines for 2016, including Viagra.
The drugs will still be sold at CVS/pharmacy stores but customers who carry prescription benefit insurance with CVS/Caremark will no longer receive coverage for them.
CVS said the medicines dropped list of drugs the company covers all have cheaper equivalents that are still covered by its insurance plan.
For example, customers taking Pfizer’s Viagra for erectile dysfunction will be able to take Cialis, made by Eli Lilly. CVS stopped covering Bayer’s rival ED drug Levitra in January 2012.
“For those drugs that are removed, equally effective products with lower overall costs remain available,” CVS said in a statement. CVS “Since introducing our industry-leading and rigorous approach … in 2012, we have delivered significant savings for our plan sponsors.”
Since 2012, the list of excluded drugs has ballooned from 34 to 124 in 2016.
Similarly, CVS’s bigger prescription drug insurance rival Express-Scripts has banned 90 drugs from its coverage
Companies that pay CVS for employees’ prescription drug benefits want to keep costs under control.
By narrowing the list of approved drugs, CVS helps steer patients to the cheaper versions.
Here are all the drugs CVS is dropping from its coverage in 2016:
- Abilify (antipsychotic)
- Amitiza (irritable bowel disease)
- Avonex (multiple sclerosis)
- Bydureon (diabetes)
- Carac (dermatology)
- Cardizem, including Cardizem CD, Cardizem LA and its generic (high blood pressure)
- Clobetasol spray (dermatology)
- Clobex spray (dermatology)
- Cymbalta (depression)
- Diovan (high blood pressure)
- Exforge, including Exforge HCT (high blood pressure)
- Extavia (multiple sclerosis)
- Fluorouracil cream 0.5% (dermatology)
- Fortesta (testosterone replacement)
- Fosrenol (kidney disease)
- Incruse Ellipta (Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)
- Intuniv (ADHD)
- Invokameet (diabetes)
- Invokana (diabetes)
- Matzim LA (high blood pressure)
- Monovisc (monovisc)
- Noritate (dermatology)
- Plegridy (multiple sclerosis)
- Qsymia (anti-obesity)
- Relistor (gastrointestinal)
- Valcyte (anti-infective)
- Viagra (erectile dysfunction)
- Zubsolv (opioid dependence)
