Are you taken Namenda

If you are currently taking Namenda 10mg (not XR), check on your copay. I just started taking Namenda. I wanted to take the 10mg tablets twice a day instead of the XR 28mg since the 10mg would become generic in July 2015. I went to the pharmacy to pick up and the copay was $95. I came home and called United Healthcare. I found the copay for the 10mg tablets was $95 and the copay for the XR was $45. $50 difference in copay and their is only $13 difference in the cost of the drug. This is not the fault of the pharmacy but the fault of the Pharmacy Benefit Mangers (PBM)

Instead of taking the Namenda 10mg twice a day, I called the Doctor and asked them to send another prescriptions for Namenda XR 28mg. Since my physician told me there was no clinical evidence that the XR 28mg was anymore effective than taking the 10mg twice a day, I will change back to the 10mg In July 2015 when the copay for the generic will be lower.

A Federal Judge issued an injunction several weeks ago establishing that Actavis Pharmaceutical had to maintain the availability of Namenda 10mg until July 2015. Actavis is motivated to "bait and switch" patients because the Namenda XR will have patent protection for 10 years.

Having practiced pharmacy for 42 years and seen first hand the actions of the PBM's in the processing of claims, I speculate that the PBM's are probably receiving higher rebates on the Namenda XR than on Namenda 10mg. Follow the dollars and you will usually find the answers.

My concern is for the patients that might stop taking their Namenda because of high copays when in fact they can continue taking it by following the path that I am choosing to take.