Report: Medicare Negotiation Should Target Pricey Drugs With Chart: Medicare Spends Most of Its Rx Dollars on Small Share of Drugs
An April 19 analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) found that a small number of drugs accounted for the majority of spending in Medicare, and that drug pricing negotiation could lower overall spending in the program. Negotiating drug prices for Medicare has become a hot topic in health care policy circles, and it is one of the options on the table as Congress considers options to control drug costs (RDB 3/25/21, p. 1).
According to the report, the 250 top-selling drugs in Medicare Part D with one manufacturer and no generic or biosimilar competition accounted for 60% of net total Part D spending, while the top 50 drugs covered under Medicare Part B accounted for 80% of total Part B drug spending (see infographic, p. 6).