Olmesartan/Hydrochlorothiazide
Brand names: Benicar Hct, Olmesartan-Hydrochlorothiazide
At a glance
- Medicare prescriptions, 2024
- 616,790
- Medicare drug cost
- $22.3M
- Average cost per prescription
- $36.23
- Clinicians who prescribed it
- 22,741
Where it is prescribed
List the prescribers in any state, county, city or ZIP code →
What it is used for
Olmesartan medoxomil tablets are indicated for the treatment of hypertension in adults and children six years of age and older, to lower blood pressure. Lowering blood pressure reduces the risk of fatal and nonfatal cardiovascular events, primarily strokes and myocardial infarctions. These benefits have been seen in controlled trials of antihypertensive drugs from a wide variety of pharmacologic classes including the class to which this drug principally belongs. There are no controlled trials demonstrating risk reduction with olmesartan medoxomil tablets. Control of high blood pressure should be part of comprehensive cardiovascular risk management, including, as appropriate, lipid control, diabetes management, antithrombotic therapy, smoking cessation, exercise, and limited sodium intake. Many patients will require more than one drug to achieve blood pressure goals. For specific advice on goals and management, see published guidelines, such as those of the National High Blood Pressure Education Program’s Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure (JNC). Numerous antihypertensive drugs, from a variety of pharmacologic classes and with different mechanisms of action, have been shown in randomized controlled trials to reduce cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, and it can be concluded that it is blood pressure reduction,…
From the FDA-approved prescribing information (label dated August 2026). Full labels on DailyMed (opens in a new tab)
Boxed warning
WARNING: FETAL TOXICITY WARNING: FETAL TOXICITY • When pregnancy is detected, discontinue olmesartan medoxomil tablets as soon as possible. • Drugs that act directly on the renin-angiotensin system can cause injury and death to the developing fetus. WARNING: FETAL TOXICITY See full prescribing information for complete boxed warning. •When pregnancy is detected, discontinue olmesartan medoxomil tablets as soon as possible. • Drugs that act directly on the renin-angiotensin system can cause injury and death to the developing fetus.
The FDA’s strongest warning on a label. It doesn’t mean the drug is unsafe for most people; talk to your doctor or pharmacist before stopping or changing any medicine.
Who prescribes it
- Internal Medicine 34.1%
- Family Medicine 32.5%
- Cardiology 10.9%
- Nurse Practitioners 9.6%
- Physician Assistants 3.8%
- Interventional Cardiology 3.2%
- General Practice 1.2%
- Geriatric Medicine 0.9%
- Nephrology (Kidney) 0.9%
- Endocrinology & Diabetes 0.6%
- Cardiac Electrophysiology 0.4%
- Adolescent Medicine 0.2%
All prescribers, by place, name or specialty →
Share of Medicare prescriptions written by each specialty. Select one to list its prescribers.
Trend, 2019–2024
Medicare prescriptions rose 12% from 2019 to 2024.
Biggest change by state since 2019
- Alabama +51%
- Mississippi +40%
- Louisiana +32%
- Arkansas +32%
- North Carolina +26%
- Connecticut (smallest change) −9%
- New York (smallest change) −9%
From CMS’s yearly state and national Part D summaries, which count every prescriber, including those CMS leaves out of its per-clinician data (fewer than 11 prescriptions). That is why these totals are higher than the count at the top of this page. Prescriptions include refills.
What it looks like
Pills from 1 maker on file. The same medicine can look different depending on who made it, so check the imprint (the letters and numbers on the pill) with your pharmacist if a refill looks different.
Northstar Rxllc
| Strength | Looks like | Imprint |
|---|---|---|
| 5 mg | yellow round tablet, 6 mm | C51 |
| 20 mg | white round tablet, 8 mm | C53 |
| 40 mg | white oval tablet, 14 mm | C54 |
Source: DailyMed (U.S. National Library of Medicine), from each maker’s FDA drug listing. A few makers are shown, not every one. Never take a pill you can’t identify; ask a pharmacist.
Industry payments about this drug
No industry payments to clinicians named this drug in 2025.
Recalls and shortages
Not on the FDA drug shortage list.
2 recalls since 2020
- Apr 2021 · Ascend Laboratories LLC · Class III
Presence of Foreign Tablet/Capsule - Jan 2020 · Ascend Laboratories LLC · Class II
cGMP Deviations; Olmesartan Medoximil Tablets 20 mg was released in error with alternate API source prior to filing and approval of Prior Approval Supplement.
Recalls usually affect specific lots from one maker, not every version of a drug. Class I is the most serious; most drug recalls are Class II. FDA recalls (opens in a new tab)
Sources: CMS Medicare Part D Prescribers by Provider and Drug (2024; prescriptions include refills, and CMS hides counts under 11 per prescriber); U.S. Food and Drug Administration, openFDA (drug labels, NDC directory, enforcement reports, drug shortages); CMS Open Payments 2025; ClinicalTrials.gov. General information only, not medical advice; not yet reviewed by our medical reviewer.