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L.5.01.473
Soriatane (acitretin)
Please perform a formulary drug search on your patient’s member ID to ensure the prescription drug is covered under their benefit plan. The medication(s) in this medical policy may not be covered under a specific member’s benefit plan.
Acitretin is a retinoid indicated for the treatment of severe psoriasis in adults. Because of significant adverse effects associated with its use, acitretin should be prescribed only by those knowledgeable in the systemic use of retinoids. In females of reproductive potential, acitretin should be reserved for non-pregnant patients who are unresponsive to other therapies or whose clinical condition contraindicates the use of other treatments.
Acitretin tends to work slowly for plaque psoriasis, and it may take up to 3 to 6 months for the drug to reach its peak effect. Once symptoms improve, the dose may be reduced depending on the patient’s response. Typically, retinoid treatment is stopped when lesions have cleared significantly. However, most patients experience relapse of psoriasis after discontinuation of therapy with acitretin. Subsequent courses, when clinically indicated, have produced efficacy results similar to the initial course of therapy.
Prior authorization is required.
The use of samples by an individual will not be considered current or stable therapy to satisfy Medical Policy requirements.
Acitretin may be considered medically necessary when ALL of the following criteria are met:
The individual is ≥18 years of age;
The individual has a confirmed diagnosis of moderate to severe psoriasis, pustular psoriasis, or erythrodermic/generalized psoriasis;
If female, the individual is not pregnant;
The individual has failed (see definition of Failure in the Policy Guidelines section) ONE of the following:
Methoxsalen with UVA (PUVA);
Methotrexate;
Cyclosporine; OR
TWO topical corticosteroids.
The individual does not have any contraindication(s) to therapy with the requested agent; AND
The prescribed dosage is within the program quantity limits based on FDA approved labeled dosage.
Length of Approval: 12 months
Acitretin may be approved for RENEWAL when ALL of the following criteria are met:
The individual has previously been approved for therapy through the BCBSMS PA process;
The individual has documented clinical improvement (i.e., slowing of disease progression or decrease in symptom severity and/or frequency);
The individual does not have any contraindication(s) to therapy with the requested agent; AND
The prescribed dosage is within the program quantity limits based on FDA approved labeled dosage.
Length of Approval: 12 months
State Health Plan (State and School Employees): The prescription drug(s) in this medical policy may be covered under a prescription drug benefit plan administered by the State Health Plan’s Pharmacy Benefit Manager. Please perform a formulary drug search at https://www.dfa.ms.gov/cvs-caremark and submit any required Prior Authorization Requests for coverage determination to the Plan’s Pharmacy Benefit Manager. Services related to delivery and/or administration of a medication determined to be not medically necessary will also be considered not medically necessary. Services related to delivery and/or administration of a self-administered drug are not covered.
The coverage guidelines outlined in the Medical Policy Manual should not be used in lieu of the Member's specific benefit plan language.
Medically Necessary is defined as those services, treatments, procedures, equipment, drugs, devices, items or supplies furnished by a covered Provider that are required to identify or treat a Member's illness, injury or Mental Health Disorders, and which Company determines are covered under this Benefit Plan based on the criteria as follows in A through D:
A. consistent with the symptoms or diagnosis and treatment of the Member's condition, illness, or injury; and
B. appropriate with regard to standards of good medical practice; and
C. not solely for the convenience of the Member, his or her Provider; and
D. the most appropriate supply or level of care which can safely be provided to Member. When applied to the care of an Inpatient, it further means that services for the Member's medical symptoms or conditions require that the services cannot be safely provided to the Member as an Outpatient.
For the definition of medical necessity, “standards of good medical practice” means standards that are based on credible scientific evidence published in peer-reviewed medical literature generally recognized by the relevant medical community, and physician specialty society recommendations, and the views of medical practitioners practicing in relevant clinical areas and any other relevant factors. BCBSMS makes no payment for services, treatments, procedures, equipment, drugs, devices, items or supplies which are not documented to be Medically Necessary. The fact that a Physician or other Provider has prescribed, ordered, recommended, or approved a service or supply does not in itself, make it Medically Necessary.
BCBSMS may request medical records for determination of medical necessity. When medical records are requested, letters of support and/or explanation are often useful, but are not sufficient documentation unless all specific information needed to make a medical necessity determination is included.
Investigative is defined as the use of any treatment procedure, facility, equipment, drug, device, or supply not yet recognized as a generally accepted standard of good medical practice for the treatment of the condition being treated and; therefore, is not considered medically necessary. For the definition of Investigative, “generally accepted standards of medical practice” means standards that are based on credible scientific evidence published in peer-reviewed medical literature generally recognized by the relevant medical community, and physician specialty society recommendations, and the views of medical practitioners practicing in relevant clinical areas and any other relevant factors. In order for equipment, devices, drugs or supplies [i.e, technologies], to be considered not investigative, the technology must have final approval from the appropriate governmental bodies, and scientific evidence must permit conclusions concerning the effect of the technology on health outcomes, and the technology must improve the net health outcome, and the technology must be as beneficial as any established alternative and the improvement must be attainable outside the testing/investigational setting.
Medication Failure
Medication failure is defined as disease progression at generally accepted doses (for >3 months use) as appropriate for the disease state being treated. Dosages below the recommended dose for the specific condition being treated and/or experience of common side effects of medication will not be considered medication failure or lack of response for the purpose of this review.
BCBSMS determines patient medication trial and adherence by a review of pharmacy claims data over the preceding twelve months. Additional information may be requested on a case-by-case basis to allow for proper review. If member is new to BCBSMS and pharmacy records are needed to confirm medication trials and adherence, it is the responsibility of the member and/or requesting provider to obtain said records and to submit them to BCBSMS upon request. Medical records from the provider that list previously prescribed medications will not be sufficient to show medication trials or adherence.
01/01/2014: New policy added.
07/23/2015: Code Reference section updated for ICD-10.
05/31/2016: Policy number L.5.01.473 added. Policy Guidelines updated to add medically necessary and investigative definitions.
11/01/2016: Approved by Pharmacy & Therapeutics (P&T) Committee.
02/10/2017: Policy statement criteria revised to make the following changes: 1) "failure, intolerance, or contraindication" changed to "trial and failure;" 2) added "two topical corticosteroids" to medically necessary criteria.
05/16/2017: Policy reviewed and approved by Pharmacy & Therapeutics (P&T) Committee.
03/27/2018: Policy reviewed and approved by Pharmacy & Therapeutics (P&T) Committee.
01/22/2019: Added drug name to the top of the policy.
11/01/2020: Policy reviewed and approved by Pharmacy & Therapeutics (P&T) Committee. Policy title changed from "Soriatane" to "Soriatane (acitretin)." Policy description updated regarding treatment. Policy section updated to add the following: 1) Prior authorization is required. 2) The use of samples by a Member will not be considered current or stable therapy for purposes of Medical Policy review. Medically necessary policy statement updated with additional criteria. Added renewal criteria. Policy Exceptions updated to remove FEP and State Health Plan members. Policy Guidelines updated to change "Nervous/Mental Conditions" to "Mental Health Disorders" and to define medication failure. Added information regarding BCBSMS request for medical records. Sources updated.
02/01/2023: Policy Exceptions updated to add the following: State Health Plan (State and School Employees): The prescription drug(s) in this medical policy may be covered under a prescription drug benefit plan administered by the State Health Plan’s Pharmacy Benefit Manager. Please perform a formulary drug search at https://www.dfa.ms.gov/cvs-caremark and submit any required Prior Authorization Requests for coverage determination to the Plan’s Pharmacy Benefit Manager. Services related to delivery and/or administration of a medication determined to be not medically necessary will also be considered not medically necessary. Services related to delivery and/or administration of a self-administered drug are not covered.
03/20/2025: Policy reviewed and approved by the Pharmacy & Therapeutics (P&T) Committee. Policy description and policy statements updated to change "Soriatane (acitretin)" to "Acitretin." Policy description updated regarding potential length of time for Acitretin to reach its peak effect. Policy statement revised to state that the use of samples by an individual will not be considered current or stable therapy to satisfy Medical Policy requirements. Policy statement criteria updated regarding contraindications to therapy and dose requirements. Sources updated.
Acitretin prescribing information. Amneal Pharmaceuticals of New York LLC. December 2023. Last accessed January 2025.
Feldman SR. Chronic plaque psoriasis in adults: Treatment of disease requiring phototherapy or systemic therapy. In: UpToDate, Connor RF (Ed), Wolters Kluwer. (Accessed January 2025) https://www.uptodate.com/contents/chronic-plaque-psoriasis-in-adults-treatment-of-disease-requiring-phototherapy-or-systemic-therapy
Soriatane (Acitretin). National Psoriasis Foundation. https://www.psoriasis.org/soriatane-acitretin/
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