AETNA WILL WAIVE COPAYS FOR GENERIC HEARTBURN DRUGS

Insurance company Aetna plans to waive copays for the next six months to encourage members to switch from certain brand proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) to a generic equivalent, the company said.

Plan members who take Wyeth's Protonix (pantoprazole sodium) or AstraZeneca's Prilosec or Nexium (esomeprazole magnesium) are eligible for the copay waiver if they switch to a generic equivalent of Prilosec (omeprazole). Generic Prilosec is on average $140 cheaper than the brand drug, Aetna said. More than 19,000 Aetna members in the New Jersey area alone receive PPI medications at an annual cost of $3 million, according to Aetna.