Medicare Compliance & Reimbursement

Drug companies are cashing in, especially on Medicaid benes who now have Medicare drug coverage.

Pharmaceutical companies are releasing their second quarter earnings, which show a drug-sales windfall thanks to the new drug benefit.

Pfizer, Inc.'s anti-cholesterol drug Lipitor ranked as the top-selling drug under Part D between Jan. 1 and June 23, according to new statistics from IMS Health. During this time period, Lipitor sales increased by 7 percent (to $3.83 billion), and Pfizer says that Part D was responsible for about half that sales gain, reports the Boston Globe.

Also during the first six months of this year, the Medicare prescription drug benefit paid for 194.3 million prescriptions, which is 12.4 percent of the prescriptions providers filled by June 23, IMS Health finds.

Dr. Tim Anderson, an analyst with Prudential Equity Group, estimated a one-time gain this year for drug companies that produce medications that Medicaid beneficiaries use, now that many of those benes have drug coverage under Part D, the Globe says. This is because Part D plans cover many drugs that dual eligibles couldn't access previously under their Medicaid drug coverage.

Anderson's research predicted that Eli Lilly and Co. could gain 17 cents per share solely on Part D sales of its schizophrenia and bipolar medication Zyprexa, and AstraZeneca PLC could see its earnings jump by 21 cents per share due to Part D sales of its similar drug, Seroquel, reports the Globe.