US medication spending jumps 8.5% in 2015; Hits $310B: 6 things to know

Practice Management

A new IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics report shows spending on drugs was up last year 8.5 percent, according to a Medscape report.

Here are six key notes:

 

1. The total net price spending on medicine in the United States was reported at $310 billion. Last year, spending on medications increased by the second-highest percentage year-over-year since 2001.

 

2. New drugs — those that have been available for two years or less — accounted for more than 50 percent of the total spending growth, with hepatitis C, cancer, multiple sclerosis and diabetes drugs driving the spending.

 

3. The average patient cost for brand prescriptions is up by more than 25 percent through a commercial plan, reaching $44 per prescription last year as more health plans are increasing pharmacy deductibles. At the same time, the average generic drug cost has remained about consistent since 2010, at $8 per prescription.

 

4. There has been more competition for new treatments in the past five years and physicians are under more pressure to make sure patients receive the right prescriptions. As a result, drug manufacturers are incentivized to make drugs more affordable, according to the report.

 

5. There are more nurse practitioners and physician assistants prescribing medications now than five years ago; since 2010, the number of PAs and NPs writing prescriptions doubled from 327 million to 676 million. Urgent care center and pharmacy in-store clinics are also growing — 115 percent — over the past five years but still represent a small percentage of the industry.

 

6. The net price cost of medications is expected to increase 4 percent to 7 percent by 2020 and reach $370 billion to $400 billion.

 

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