(Bloomberg) — CVS Health Corp. dropped Pfizer Inc.'s erectile dysfunction medication Viagra from its list of coverage for drug insurance benefits, two years before the treatment is expected to face generic competition.

Patients can get coverage for Eli Lilly & Co.'s Cialis instead, CVS said in a document detailing the drugs it's removing from the list, called a formulary, starting Jan. 1.

While CVS got its start as a discount retail chain, it's become increasingly influential in the drug business, acquiring Caremark in 2007 to become the second-biggest manager of pharmaceutical benefits on behalf of U.S. insurers and employers.

Complete your profile to continue reading and get FREE access to BenefitsPRO, part of your ALM digital membership.

Your access to unlimited BenefitsPRO content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:

  • Breaking benefits news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
  • Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
  • Critical converage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.