Alaska Preferred Drug List (PDL)

Overview

A Preferred Drug List (PDL) is a list of prescription medications that Medicaid prefers to use when treating patients, based on their effectiveness. 

PDL Program Information

Under a PDL program:

• All approved drugs are available
• Preferred drugs require no special authorization
• Non-preferred drugs need a prescriber’s documentation of medical necessity
• Certain groups, based on age or other criteria, may be exempt from PDL requirements

How are drugs placed on the PDL?

• The Alaska Medicaid Pharmacy and Therapeutics (P&T) Committee will be responsible for determining the most effective drug or reference drug to be placed on the Preferred Drug List
• Drugs in specific drug classes are approved based on safety, clinical effectiveness, and cost

The advantages of a PDL

• The PDL ensures continued patient care while reducing the expenditure growth of the pharmacy program through supplemental rebate agreements
• All drugs currently covered will be available to Medicaid patients
• Non-preferred drugs will require a prescriber's documentation of medical necessity

Exemptions

• Some groups of recipients, based on age or other criteria, may be exempt from the PDL requirements
• The PDL will be introduced by sets of drug classes. Each set will include about five drug classes

Criteria for non-PDL drug approval

• The prescriber will determine and document if the non-PDL drug is medically necessary. The criteria for this approval is to be determined by therapeutic class by the Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee.

Provider notification

• Providers will be notified through this website.
• Full Implementation: The first therapeutic class will be fully implemented 60 to 90 days after the pharmacy alerts are active. When providers have been notified that the therapeutic class is in effect, individual drugs must be on the PDL List, determined to be medically necessary, or exempt from the PDL.

Resources