Medicare Spends the Most on These 10 Prescription Drugs — How It Affects You
Written by
David Nadelle
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Nicholas Morine
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In a recent blog post, AARP researchers claim that the prices of 75 of the 100 brand name drugs that Medicare spends the most money on were raised in January. In what may come as unsurprising economic news, none of the top brand name drugs experienced a list price decrease.
Of those 75 top brand name drugs, the average list price increase was 5.2%. Prices increased between 2.0% and 7.9% for these drugs, and more than half of these drug prices increased by 5.0% or more. Those same 75 drugs represented $93.2 billion in total Medicare Part D spending in 2020. That is almost half of the $198.7 billion that Medicare Part D spent on all prescription drugs the same year.
According to Leigh Purvis, director of health care costs and access at the AARP Public Policy Institute, the impact of the aforementioned price hikes will be considerable on Medicare Part D. Costs for both the program itself and its beneficiaries, who take an average of four to five prescriptions a month and have a median annual income of just under $30,000, will have to increase.
Increasing drug prices will affect all Americans in terms of increased cost sharing premiums for those with health insurance — and higher taxes for all due to increased government spending. Pricing older people out of what they can afford for drugs and premiums may force more and more to stop taking their necessary medications altogether.
AARP’s Fair Rx Prices Now campaign is pushing for legislation that would provide Medicare with improved price negotiation power concerning pharmaceutical companies, levy tax penalization on drug manufacturers who raise prices at a rate greater than overall inflation — a scenario which occurred every year between 2006 and 2020, per the AARP — and place a cap on Part D out-of-pocket costs. By calling into question the drug industry’s more contentious pricing practices, according to the AARP, it is hoped that all Americans will benefit from some form of price stabilization and greater financial relief.
Based on AARP data, the following list details the drug brands that Medicare spent the most money on in 2020 — with information on their uses, attached Medicare spending in 2020, number of beneficiaries using said drug, and the drug’s relative price increase in Jan. 2022.
1. Eliquis
Use: A blood thinner for people with atrial fibrillation (A-fib). Medicare spending in 2020: $9.9 billion. Number of beneficiaries: 2,641,941. Jan. 2022 price increase: 6%.
2. Revlimid
Use: To treat cancer. Medicare spending in 2020: $5.4 billion. Number of beneficiaries: 43,747. Jan. 2022 price increase: 4.5%.
3. Xarelto
Use: A blood thinner for people with atrial fibrillation (A-fib). Medicare spending in 2020: $4.7 billion. Number of beneficiaries: 1,184,718. Jan. 2022 price increase: 4.9%.
4. Januvia
Use: To treat diabetes. Medicare spending in 2020: $3.9 billion. Number of beneficiaries: 934,686. Jan. 2022 price increase: 5%.
5. Trulicity
Use: To treat diabetes. Medicare spending in 2020: $3.3 billion. Number of beneficiaries: 497,327. Jan. 2022 price increase: 5%.
6. Imbruvica
Use: To treat cancer. Medicare spending in 2020: $3 billion. Number of beneficiaries: 26,847. Jan. 2022 price increase: 7.4%.
7. Jardiance
Use: To treat diabetes. Medicare spending in 2020: $2.4 billion. Number of beneficiaries: 594,859. Jan. 2022 price increase: 4%.
8. Humira (Cf) pen
Use: To treat rheumatoid arthritis, plaque psoriasis. Medicare spending in 2020: $2.2 billion. Number of beneficiaries: 42,406. Jan. 2022 price increase: 7.4%.
9. Ibrance
Use: To treat cancer. Medicare spending in 2020: $2.1 billion. Number of beneficiaries: 21,394. Jan. 2022 price increase: 6.9%.
10. Symbicort
Use: To treat asthma. Medicare spending in 2020: $2 billion. Number of beneficiaries: 1,017,530. Jan. 2022 price increase: 2%.
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