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Price Comparison for Drugs Is Put on Federal Web Site

By ROBERT PEAR

WASHINGTON, Sept. 15 - Over objections from some drug companies, the Bush

administration unveiled a new feature of a federal Web site on Wednesday

comparing prices for similar brand-name drugs that can be used to treat

conditions like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, arthritis and

allergies.

The information, compiled originally for Medicare beneficiaries, is

available to all consumers at www.medicare.gov.

Federal health officials said that doctors and patients could use the data

to choose less expensive drugs providing benefits similar or identical to

those of high-cost medications.

" We are creating greater competition among drug companies and giving seniors

more power to compare prices and choose the lowest-cost medicine that's

right for them, " said Tommy G. , the secretary of health and human

services.

The new aid to consumers became available as President Bush and his

Democratic opponent in the presidential race, Senator Kerry, continued

to fight over Medicare and the votes of millions of elderly people who rely

on it for health insurance.

In March, before Medicare became a hot issue in the campaign, Mr.

was promising to publish detailed information comparing drug prices. Such

information has not been readily available to consumers. The first batch of

data compares prices for eight categories of drugs, with a total of 52

products that account for about one-fourth of all drug spending for Medicare

beneficiaries.

The Web site shows, for example, that Zocor, a top-selling Merck product

used to treat high cholesterol, costs an average of $89.38 for a month's

supply of 20 milligram tablets. The site displays several " lower-cost

options, " including Altoprev ($57.19), made by Andrx Pharmaceuticals; Lescol

($63.13), sold by Novartis; and Lipitor ($66.08), made by Pfizer.

Lipitor is the world's best-selling drug, and Zocor ranks second, according

to sales figures reported by the manufacturers.

Less than one-fourth of the elderly regularly use the Internet, but the

number is growing rapidly. Counselors and advocates for the elderly said the

comparative data would be helpful, though several said the Web site was

somewhat difficult to use.

Gail E. Shearer, a health policy expert at Consumers Union, said, " This is

the kind of information consumers desperately need. " But she added: " The Web

site is challenging to use. You need to be really Web-savvy and good with a

computer mouse to get useful information. "

The Web site would be more valuable if the government added information

comparing the effectiveness of drugs used to treat the same disease, Ms.

Shearer said.

The new Medicare law requires the government to perform research on the

" comparative clinical effectiveness " of drugs.

Mr. said he had discussed the new project with the drug industry.

" Drug makers would rather we did not do it, " he said.

Drug companies frequently talk about the value of competition. But they said

they worried that the Web site would suggest that medicines listed in the

same category were equivalent, and that one could be substituted for another

without careful analysis by a doctor.

" The medicine that is right for one patient might not be right for another, "

said Court G. Rosen, a spokesman for the Pharmaceutical Research and

Manufacturers of America, the industry trade group.

Ian D. Spatz, a vice president of Merck & Company, said, " It's good that

patients will be able to get more information. " But, Mr. Spatz said,

patients need to understand that brand-name drugs in the same category are,

in most cases, different medicines and can have different effects.

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