The $1,000-a-pill hepatitis C drug Sovaldi has become the most expensive drug for Medicare Part D, resulting in more than $3 billion in total sales last year, according to data from the federal government.
The data was released by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Monday as part of a new dashboard that allows users to see what Medicare spends its money on. Medicare is the biggest purchaser of prescription drugs in the country.
Medicare spent $140 billion on prescription drugs in 2014, up 12 percent from 2013. That includes Medicare Part D, the program’s prescription drug plan, and Medicare Part B, which covers medical services such as doctors’ visits.
The drug that got the most money from Part D was Sovaldi, for which the agency paid out $3.1 billion in 2014. That big payout was made even though the drug is only being prescribed to 33,000 beneficiaries, a small number compared to other drugs.
In contrast, the drug Humira, which is used to treat arthritis, had more than 50,000 beneficiaries in 2014, and $1.2 billion was spent on that drug in 2014.
A big reason for Sovaldi’s high percentage was the cost of the drug, as Sovaldi cost each beneficiary an average of $94,000 in total annual spending per user. Humira cost each average user about $24,000.
In addition to Sovaldi, the highest-cost Medicare Part D drugs were the anti-depressant Abilify, asthma treatment Advair Diskus, cholesterol medication Crestor and heartburn medication Nexium.
Medicare Part B program spent about $1.5 billion on the cancer treatment Rituxan. The other drugs that rounded out that top 5 were the Crohn’s disease treatment Remicade, cancer drug Neulasta and eye drugs Lucentis and Eylea.
An important qualifier is that the data doesn’t include the impact of manufacturer rebates. The agency is prohibited from disclosing information on rebates under federal law.
However, even after taking into account rebates the top-spending drugs would be the same, said Niall Brennan, chief data officer for CMS, during a call with reporters.
Brennan said that the agency is committed to updating it on more than a yearly basis but still considering “what the appropriate update schedule is.” He added that he hopes to release some information on Medicaid drug spending next year.
High drug prices have become a political issue as Democrats, and some Republicans, are clamoring for ways to address the problem.
A common reform touted by Democrats is to allow Medicare the power to negotiate with drug makers to get a lower price on treatments. So far bills to grant this power haven’t moved in the GOP-controlled Congress.
