Heads up : Coverage of Lantus on prescription plans by UHC , CareMark and Express Scripts

Treatment Insulin
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All three major PBM’s may be changing the coverage of Lantus. Please check 2017 benefits as enrollment period is soon starting. while its not fully excluded, its better to get prepared to pay more in copay’s and/or get the prior authorization for Lantus

UHC:

In a bulletin seeking client feedback by Sept. 28, UnitedHealth said it is changing reimbursement terms for long-acting insulins and will no longer cover Lantus, the main insulin
drug sold by Sanofi (SASY.PA).

The insurer said Basaglar, a cheaper biosimilar insulin sold by Eli Lilly (LLY.N) would be covered as “Tier 1,” meaning the lowest out-of-pocket costs for members. Levemir, produced by Novo Nordisk (NOVOb.CO), will move from Tier 1 to Tier 2.

CVS Health (CVS.N) made a similar move last month to drop Lantus in favor of Lilly’s new biosimilar.

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We had an earlier discussion of these formulary changes:

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I applaud this. Lantus is 1990 technology, and sanofi horribly betrayed people with diabetes everywhere with the whole afrezza fiasco.

Maybe this should be viewed in a positive light as the first step toward reigning in the price gouging?

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I agree @Sam19 , though I am anxious about also losing my coverage for Apidra, since I do get somewhat better results with it than I do with Novolog. I can hope htat Novo Nordisk gets their “faster Novolog” approved soon - that will help…

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