What is a drug formulary (or preferred drug list) and how does that affect me?
A prescription drug formulary is used to help your doctor make prescribing decisions. This list of drugs is updated quarterly by a committee of doctors and pharmacists so that the list includes drugs that are safe and effective in the treatment of disease. The goal of the formulary list of prescription drugs, as established for the Pharmacy Program, is to identify and promote prescription drugs which are therapeutically appropriate and cost-effective.
BCBSNC’s prescription drug formulary is a list of FDA-approved prescription drugs reviewed and maintained by the BCBSNC Pharmacy and Therapeutics (P&T) Committee, comprised of independent physicians and pharmacists. BCBSNC offers an open formulary; therefore, no drugs are considered non-formulary. If your prescription drug benefit is based on copayments, the formulary can help you determine your copayment for a specific drug. It also provides a list of possible therapeutic alternatives that may be available at a lower copayment. If your prescription drug benefit is based on coinsurance, the formulary can help you identify any available low cost generic drugs. If you would like an updated copy of the formulary, free of charge, please call BCBSNC’s Customer Service at 1-877-258-3334. You should bring your copy of the formulary with you when you visit the doctor. You may also get formulary information by using the online Prescription Drug Search. (In some cases, employer groups carve out
A44.A prescription drug formulary is used to help your doctor make prescribing decisions. This list of drugs is updated quarterly by a committee of doctors and pharmacists so that the list includes drugs that are safe and effective in the treatment of disease. The goal of the formulary list of prescription drugs, as established for the Pharmacy Plan, is to identify and promote prescription drugs which are therapeutically appropriate and cost-effective.
A formulary is a list of effective, affordable and commonly prescribed medications, comprised of brand name and generic drugs. Your plan may feature a formulary to encourage you to use quality, affordable prescription medications. If your plan does include a formulary, you may pay a lower copayment when your physician prescribes formulary drugs. Some plans may limit coverage to drugs on the formulary. The complete drug formulary is usually quite long and technical. UNICARE distributes a Formulary Selection Guide that lists commonly prescribed drugs on the formulary. Members who wish to keep their out-of-pocket costs at a minimum should share this guide with their physicians and encourage them to prescribe generic or formulary brand name drugs (if no generic version exists) whenever possible. This is only a brief summary of the plan. Please refer to your Certificate of Coverage or plan booklet for complete details about your plan including benefits, limitations and exclusions.
