GENERIC Provigil Now Available (OT?)

[Guest guest]

Over the years, there have been countless members who were unable to get

Provigil or Nuvigil because of the high cost. Either they were uninsured,

the insurance refused to cover it, or they did their best to keep it out of

reach by placing it on the highest possible cost sharing tier (usually

non-preferred brand) or even by classifying it as a Specialty drug

(Medicare Part D, 33.3% coinsurance).

The good news is that Teva has released modafinil 100mg and modafinil

200mg. They are authorized generics produced by Cephalon (manufacturer of

Provigil and Nuvigil), which means it is identical to the name brand (same

active ingredients, same inactive ingredients, same fillers, same ink). The

packaging and writing on an authorized generic is usually different, but

the main difference is the lower cost, especially for insured patients (my

mother-in-law paid up to 22 times as much for brand than generic,

irregardless of actual cost; my mother 20 times (private policy through

BlueShield), my father 30 times with his last job, 12x when he had

BlueCross at the job before that).

Nuvigil was released as a patent extender. *Provigil actually contains

Nuvigil. Armodafinil (Nuvigil) Armodafinil is an enantiopure drug

consisting of just the active (-)-®- enantiomer of the racemic drug

modafinil (Provigil).

If modafinil looks like this (d and d is inactive, armodafinil is ( b ).

Even though these drugs are extremely similar and most people can switch

between the two without noticing a thing, some people cannot tolerate one,

but do well on the other.

It you take Provigil, you should ask your pharmacist to order modafinil

(sometimes they will continue to fill the prescriptions with the brand

(higher profit margin) for several months, until insurance refuses to pay

for brand). If you have a prior authorization, most insurance companies

will not enforce mandatory generic substitution until your PA is renewed

(typically every 3, 6, 12, 24, or 60 months. Also, the pharmacy or you may

need to call your pharmacy benefit manager to have them update your

authorization to include the new NDC number.

If you take Nuvigil and generics are cheaper for you (sometimes Nuvigil has

a copay relief card that makes it cheaper than some people's generic copay;

Medicare, Medicaid, Tricare, and CHIP recipients not eligible) and want to

reduce your expenses, talk to your doctor (CRNP, PA-C, or other prescriber)

about whether or not modafinil (Provigil) would be appropriate for you. If

you don't want to wait for your next appointment, most doctors will handle

simple things like this over the phone and then call or fax the

prescription to the pharmacy of your choice.

Steve M in PA

*Do NOT start, stop, or change any medication without discussing it with

your doctor, pharmacist, or other qualified healthcare professional.

[Guest guest]

Thank you for this information. Can anyone speak to their side effects while

taking any of these?

> Over the years, there have been countless members who were unable to get

> Provigil or Nuvigil because of the high cost. Either they were uninsured,

> the insurance refused to cover it, or they did their best to keep it out of

> reach by placing it on the highest possible cost sharing tier (usually

> non-preferred brand) or even by classifying it as a Specialty drug

> (Medicare Part D, 33.3% coinsurance).

>

> The good news is that Teva has released modafinil 100mg and modafinil

> 200mg. They are authorized generics produced by Cephalon (manufacturer of

> Provigil and Nuvigil), which means it is identical to the name brand (same

> active ingredients, same inactive ingredients, same fillers, same ink).

[Guest guest]

hiw haRD IS IT TO GET PROVIGIL THEY SAID I NEED PRIOR AUTHORIZATION I HAVE

EPTEIN BARR VIRUS AAND I AM SLEEPING 16-18 HOURS AA DAY I HAVENT SHOWERED

IN THREE DAYS I AM SO TIRED I AM STREES OVER MY TRIP TO NJ IN 9 DAYS. ALSO

HGOW MANY DAYS WILL THE PHARMACY REFILL MY RX I AM 6 DAYS EARLIER SO I PUT

TWO DAYS EXTRa of roxyxodone aside just in case but i remember them filling

it 5 days early if not i will have to takw the rx with me to nj

netty

In a message dated 4/28/2012 6:48:02 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,

pumpstersteve@... writes:

Over the years, there have been countless members who were unable to get

Provigil or Nuvigil because of the high cost. Either they were uninsured,

the insurance refused to cover it, or they did their best to keep it out of

reach by placing it on the highest possible cost sharing tier (usually

non-preferred brand) or even by classifying it as a Specialty drug

(Medicare Part D, 33.3% coinsurance).