Table 1. Inventory of Sampled Medicines, Potential Alternative Drugs, and Estimated Monthly Costs

Sampled Drug	Generic Name	Average Monthly Cost ($)	Potential Alternative Drug	Average Alternative Drug Monthly Cost ($)	Difference ($)
Psychotropic/neurologic
Cymbalta	Duloxetine	107	Fluoxetine	10	−96
Lexapro	L-citalopram	75	Fluoxetine	10	−65
Paxil CR	Paroxetine	79	Fluoxetine	10	−69
Zoloft	Sertraline	81	Fluoxetine	10	−71
Imitrex	Sumatriptan	21*	NA
Namenda	Memantine	145	NA
Cardiovascular
Advicor	Niacin	76	Niacin / lovastatin	39	−37
Altace	Ramipril	46	Lisinopril	16	−30
Altoprev	Lovastatin	89	Lovastatin	38	−51
Avapro	Irbesartan	50	Lisinopril	16	−34
Benicar	Olmesartan	50	Lisinopril	16	−34
Coreg	carvedilol	99	Metoprolol	7	−92
Cozaar	Losartan	54	Lisinopril	16	−38
Diovan	Valsartan	55	Lisinopril	16	−39
Hyzaar	Losartan/HCTZ	59	Lisinopril / HCTZ	15	−43
Lipitor	Atorvastatin	94	Lovastatin	38	−56
Micardis	Telmisartan	55	Lisinopril	16	−38
Niaspan	Niacin Extended Release	58	Niacin	4	−54
Norvasc	Amlodipine	57	Felodipine	49	−9
Pravachol	Pravastatin	90	Lovastatin	38	−52
Teveten	Eprosartan	39	Lisinopril	16	−23
Tricor	Fenofibrate	65	Gemfibrozil	19	−46
Vytorin	Simvastatin/ezetimibe	85	Lovastatin	16	−68
Zocor	Simvastatin	94	Lovastatin	16	−78
Endocrine
Actos	Pioglitazone	155	Glyburide or glipizide or metformin	9	−147
Avandia	Rosiglitazone	103	Glyburide or glipizide or metformin	9	−94
Starlix	Nateglinide	105	Glyburide or glipizide or metformin	9	−97
ACTOPLUS MET	Pioglitazone/metformin	150	Glipizide/metformin	49	−101
Avodart	Dutasteride	81	Terazosin	40	−41
Boniva	Ibandronate	60	NA
Enablex	Darifenacin	91	Oxybutynin	15	−76
Flomax	Tamsulosin	58	Terazosin	40	−19
Fosamax	Alendronate	84	NA
Prempro	Estrogen/medroxyprogesterone	42	NA
Sanctura	Trospium	45	Oxybutynin	15	−30
Vesicare	Solifenacin	95	Oxybutynin	15	−80
Musculoskeletal
Skelaxin	Metaxalone	228	Baclofen	31	−197
Ultracet	Tramadol/APAP	50	Hydrocodone/APAP 5/500	7	−43
Respiratory/allergy
Asmanex	Mometasone	369^*	Qvar™(beclomethasone)	69	−300
Singulair	Montelukast	91	NA
Spiriva	Tiotropium	127^*	Atrovent™ (ipratropium)	62	−65
Xopenex	Levalbuterol	165^*	Albuterol	14	−151
Zyrtec	Cetirizine	66	Loratadine	14	−52
Miscellaneous
Viagra	Sildenafil	13^†	NA
Zelnorm	Tegaserod	170	NA
Omnicef	Cefdinir	50	Cefaclor	24	−26
					Average Difference = -$70

Drug costs estimated by Oregon Medicaid reimbursement data in 2005. Costs of brand-name drug costs = average wholesale price × 0.85; generic drugs = maximum allowable cost.
↵* Cost per inhaler.
↵† Cost per dose.