In Alex Brill’s paper on “Overspending on Multi-Source Drugs in Medicaid,” he writes about “the potential savings that could have been achieved had Medicaid consistently used the lower-cost version” of 20 multi-source drugs.
While there is little or no debate about the need to control Medicaid spending, Brill’s recommendations could lead legislators to institute policies that would be even more aggressive in requiring use of generics unless doctors go through extraordinary steps to get around strict state Medicaid formularies. It is important to recognize there could be adverse impacts on patient care.