August 2, 2018
Premera is implementing a pharmacy edit that removes coverage of brand topical acne medications, starting September 4, 2018. If there’s a medical reason for a patient to remain on a brand topical acne medication, there are two options:
- Submit documentation showing the patient tried and “failed” at least 2 generic alternatives and there’s a medical reason to remain on the brand topical acne medication.
- Call our pharmacy services team at 888-261-1756 for a prescription review and approval. Our pharmacy services team is available 7 days a week and holidays.
Generic topical acne medications are equally effective as their brand counterparts ̶ the active ingredients in both are typically benzoyl peroxide and/or an antibiotic ̶ but come at a fraction of the cost to the patient.
This policy change is an effort to help our customers find and use affordable alternatives to high-cost medications. Our pharmacy experts regularly review the cost of prescription medications to determine if there are similar, less expensive, medications on the market.