CMS Medicare Drug Spending Dashboard Updated with CY2015 Data

This week, CMS updated their interactive Medicare Drug Spending Dashboard with data from 2015.  The online tool provides users with Part B and Part D spending information for drugs with high spending on a per user basis, drugs with high overall spending, and drugs with large per unit cost increases.  The tool returns relevant spending, utilization, and trend data as well as drug information, manufacturer, and uses in a user-friendly format.

Detailed methodology and the underlying data set are also available for download.

Part D Total Spending, Top 5 Drugs CY2015

Part D Dashboard Summary for CY2014 and CY2015

	# of Drug Products*		Total Program Spending		Percent of Program Spending
	2014	2015	2014	2015	2014	2015
All Drugs	3,761	3,812	$121.5B	$137.4B	100%	100%
All Drugs with Total Program Spending >$250M	115	119	$76.7B	$88.0B	63%	64%
Top 15 Total Program	15	15	$29.1B	$35.6B	24%	26%
Spending Drugs
All Drugs with Annual Per-User Spending >$10K	267	335	$26.2B	$37.9B	22%	28%
Top 15 Drugs with Annual Per-User Spending >$10K	15	15	$9.3B	$9.2B	8%	7%
All Drugs with Unit Cost Increases >25%	540	538	$13.7B	$8.7B	11%	6%
Top 10 Drugs with Unit Cost Increases >25%	10	10	$1.3B	$1.4B	1%	1%
All Drugs Included in Dashboard	40	40	$39.7B	$46.2B	33%	34%

* Drug Products defined by distinct Brand Name and Generic Name (First Databank), excluding over the counter drugs.

Many Questions About Trump’s Health Care Policy Remain

For seniors in the midst of Medicare open enrollment, which lasts this year from October 15 to December 7, questions remain about how a Trump presidency will affect Medicare.  The president-elect made clear his intention to repeal the Affordable Care Act throughout his campaign and has since established a page on his website dedicated to his plans to reshape the nation’s healthcare system.  He includes steps to “modernize Medicare” and increase state flexibility with regard to Medicaid.  Trump promised throughout his campaign to leave Medicare untouched, though his campaign seems to be leaving the door open to some reforms.

Pharmaceutical stocks have gained in the days since Trump’s surprise victory over Hillary Clinton last Tuesday.  President-elect Trump continues to call for a replacement to the Affordable Care Act though he has yet to offer a specific plan nor clarified how he plans to combat the rising medication and health care costs for most Americans.  Regardless, any changes have the potential to greatly impact the drug marketplace and the drug price issue is unlikely to go away in the coming years.  During the Republican primary presidential campaign, Trump indicated that he was open to having the federal government negotiate directly with pharmaceutical companies to secure lower prices, as other nations such as Canada do.  It is unclear if this remains part of Trump’s plan or was merely an idea proposed on the campaign trail.