Specialty Drug Spending Continues to Rise, Driven by Higher Utilization
December
10
Per-member per-year (PMPY) specialty drug spending rose 13.6% from 2018 to 2019, according to Pharmaceutical Strategies Group’s annual report, which analyzed 45 million pharmacy claims and 54 million medical claims. Contributing to the growth was a 10.3% increase in utilization and a 3.3% rise in costs per claim. Specialty drug spending under the pharmacy benefit saw the largest increase, driven by 19.6% higher utilization of such therapies. In terms of overall cost, inflammatory disorders ranked No. 1 among all drug categories, followed by oncology and multiple sclerosis.
© 2023 MMIT
Meet Our Reporters
-
Lauren Flynn Kelly Executive Editor, AIS Health, and Managing Editor, Radar on Medicare Advantage
View Lauren Flynn Kelly's Profile -
Angela Maas Managing Editor, Radar on Specialty Pharmacy and Spotlight on Market Access
View Angela Maas's Profile -
Leslie Small Managing Editor, Health Plan Weekly and Radar on Drug Benefits
View Leslie Small's Profile -
Peter Johnson Reporter, Health Plan Weekly and Radar on Drug Benefits
View Peter Johnson's Profile -
Tim Casey Reporter, Health Plan Weekly and Radar on Drug Benefits
View Tim Casey's Profile -
Carina Belles Reporter, Radar on Medicare Advantage and Spotlight on Market Access
View Carina Belles's Profile -
Jinghong Chen Reporter, Health Plan Weekly and Radar on Drug Benefits
View Jinghong Chen's Profile