''); //> Search User Name: Password: Remember Me WEE WSJ's blog on health and the business of health.Blog Search: < Previous Next > April 2, 2008, 10:58 am CIGNA EASES RESTRICTIONS ON ALTERNATIVES TO VYTORIN Posted by Sarah Rubenstein Since the controversy over the effectiveness of Vytorin erupted, health insurers haven't rushed to downgrade their coverage of the cholesterol drug.Cigna now says it's suspending its requirements for certain patients to try Vytorin, jointly sold by Merck and Schering-Plough, before trying alternatives, such as Pfizer's Lipitor and AstraZeneca's Crestor.Vytorin remains on the second tier of Cigna's preferred .Who use second-tier drugs pay lower copayments than they do for those on the third tier, which for Cigna includes Crestor and Lipitor.But Cigna's "step therapy" approach has required patients who need to reduce their cholesterol by 50% to try Vytorin before moving to third-tier drugs, barring apelling medical reason to do otherwise.Cigna spokeswoman Lindsay Shearer tells the Health Blog that "based on the questions raised about Vytorin in the ," the insurer has put the Vytorin-first rule on hold until its pharmacy policymittee can "evaluate the updated clinical literature and make a rmendation.Don't want people arbitrarily stopping taking their medications," Shearer adds.Is not a safety issue.An effectiveness issue.Dow Jones Newswires, which reported on Cigna's decision yesterday, adds that a number of drug-benefit plans are revisiting their coverage policies for Vytorin.The New York Times weighed in with an today that argues Vytorin and Zetia have been overpromoted.Is distressingly late to be learning that these drugs may provide little or no benefit," the piece says.Vytorin and sister drug Zetia "are clearly down, but not necessarily out," the editorial adds.Read more Insulin-resistant muscle is exercise resistant: evidence for reduced response of nuclear-encoded mitochondrial genes to exercise
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