Medicare paid 77 percent more for brand-name drugs over a five-year span, despite a 17 percent drop in the number of medicines prescribed, an inspector general study found.
The study from the Department of Health and Human Services’ watchdog looked at the impact of high drug prices on costs for Medicare Part D, the program’s prescription drug plan. It comes as the Trump administration is attempting to contain drug costs in the health insurance program for seniors.
The study, released Monday, looked at the total reimbursement for all Part D brand-name drugs from 2011 to 2015. It found that during that span, the reimbursement costs rose by 77 percent, even though the number of prescriptions for those drugs fell by 17 percent.
Manufacturer rebates negotiated between vendors and drug makers didn’t make much of a dent.
“After accounting for manufacturer rebates, reimbursement for brand-name drugs in Part D still increased 62 percent from 2011 to 2015,” according to the study.
It also found that seniors are feeling the brunt of the higher drug prices.
The percentage of beneficiaries responsible for out-of-pocket costs of at least $2,000 per year nearly doubled from 2011 at 3.7 percent to 7.3 percent in 2015, according to the analysis.
The analysis comes as the Trump administration laid out a blueprint to try to curb Medicare drug costs. It calls for giving Part D plan sponsors more negotiating power with drug makers, among other changes.
HHS Secretary Alex Azar has hinted that he wants to do away with rebates and move toward a fixed-price discount for Medicare Part D drugs.
But the blueprint does not endorse a long-sought reform from Democrats that would give Medicare the power to negotiate directly with drug makers, which Democrats have said could lower prices in Part D.
