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Verispan Identifies Medicare Part D Dual-Eligible Population

Posted on: Tuesday, 24 January 2006, 09:00 CST

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services estimates approximately 6 million "dual-eligible" Americans were automatically enrolled in the Medicare Part D prescription benefit on Jan. 1. These "dual eligibles" received both Medicaid and Medicare benefits prior to 2006 and will not be subject to the same monthly premiums and co-pays as the rest of the potential Part D population, most of whom have a choice of whether or not they wish to enroll in the benefit.

Using its de-identified patient database, Vector One(R), Verispan has assembled an anonymous patient cohort of approximately 1.25 million who fall into the "dual-eligible" category and have been auto-enrolled in Medicare Part D. Verispan now has the ability to track the drug-usage habits of these 1.25 million patients into 2006 and monitor where the patients are located, how their drug-usage habits have changed, and in what Part D plans they have been enrolled. For example, Verispan used 2005 data to analyze this population in terms of the number of prescriptions filled for unique drugs and found the following: # Rx's for Unique Drugs in 2005 % of Verispan's Identified "Dual Eligibles" ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 - 5 20.4% ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 6 - 10 21.6% ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 11 - 15 17.9% ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 16 - 20 12.6% ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 21 - 25 8.3% ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 26 - 30 5.5% ---------------------------------------------------------------------- greater than 30 13.7% ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Base 1,254,312 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Source: Verispan's Vector One(R), January - November 2005 The total drug cost for 2005 for Verispan's identified "dual eligibles" fell into the following categories: Total Drug Cost % of Verispan's Identified "Dual Eligibles" ---------------------------------------------------------------------- less than or equal to $1,000 30.5% ---------------------------------------------------------------------- $1,001 - $5,000 45.6% ---------------------------------------------------------------------- $5,001 - $10,000 15.8% ---------------------------------------------------------------------- $10,001 - $15,000 4.7% ---------------------------------------------------------------------- $15,001 - $20,000 1.8% ---------------------------------------------------------------------- $20,001 - $25,000 0.8% ---------------------------------------------------------------------- greater than $25,000 0.8% ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Base 1,254,312 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Source: Verispan's Vector One(R), January - November 2005 Additionally, Verispan identified the top six most utilized drug classes in 2005 by the identified dual- eligible population: Drug Class % of Verispan's Identified "Dual Eligibles" ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Codeine & Comb. Non-Injectables 43.5% ---------------------------------------------------------------------- HMG-CoA Reductase Inhibitors 38.9% ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Proton Pump Inhibitors 34.2% ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Beta-Blockers 34.0% ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ACE Inhibitors, Alone 31.2% ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Antiarthritics, Plain 29.8% ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Base 1,254,312 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Source: Verispan's Vector One(R), January - November 2005 For more information about how Verispan's anonymous, longitudinal patient data can help answer your Medicare Part D-related business questions, contact Betty Sanna at 800-982-5613; email: elizabeth.sanna@verispan.com.

About Verispan

Verispan, a healthcare informatics joint venture of Quintiles Transnational Corp. and McKesson Corp., provides a broad array of information products and services to the healthcare industry, including sales targeting and compensation products; market research audits; healthcare profiles; comprehensive managed care offerings; primary market research; data integration, warehousing and mining; data analysis and consulting; direct mail; list services; disease management studies; clinical trial investigator targeting and protocol recruitment evaluation; healthcare outcomes; and cost/benefit analyses, among many others. Verispan is also the nation's leading provider of patient-centric longitudinal data, with dozens of products used by clients spanning the industry.

Headquartered in Yardley, Pa., Verispan employs over 500 dedicated healthcare information professionals. The company's Web site is www.verispan.com.

Source: Business Wire

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