Medicare Part D Spending on 10 Diabetes Drugs Hit $35.8B in 2023
Medicare Part D spending on 10 diabetes drugs increased 364% between 2019 and 2023.
CMS Anticipates a 1.8% Decrease in Medicare Part D Monthly Premiums for 2024
The average total monthly premium for Medicare Part D coverage is expected to be $55.50 in 2024, down from $56.49 in 2023, according to CMS.
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Report: 10 Prescription Drugs Took Up 22% of Medicare Part D Spending in 2021
KFF found that the 10 top-selling Part D drugs represented $47.7 billion of the $215.7 billion total gross Medicare Part D drug spending in 2021. Eliquis, a blood thinner by Bristol Myers Squibb, accounted for the most spending out of these 10 drugs at $12.6 billion.
Report: Average Monthly Premiums for MA Plans Up First Time in 4 Years
The average monthly premium for Medicare Advantage plans increased to $7 in the first half of the Medicare Annual Open Enrollment period this year, the eHealth report found. Premiums were in the $4 to $5 range for the last three years.
Star ratings for Medicare Advantage, Part D see sharp drop for 2023, CMS shows
There are 260 MA plans with Part D coverage that received four stars or more for 2023, a share of about 51%. This is a steep decline from 2022, when there were 322 plans with four stars or more, accounting for about 68% of plans.
OIG: Over 50,000 Medicare Part D beneficiaries experienced an opioid overdose in 2021
Over 1 million Medicare beneficiaries had a diagnosis for opioid use disorder in 2021. But despite this high number, only 18% received medication to treat their disorder.
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Specialty pharmacy serving HIV patients wins arbitration against CVS in rare public case
Confidentiality agreements typically prevent the public from obtaining a window into the cases against pharmacy behemoths but a public court filing makes this one different.
Insurers will limit insulin costs to $35 copay for Medicare Part D plans next year
More than 1,750 Medicare part D plans and Medicare Advantage plans will limit out-of-pocket insulin costs to a $35 copay next year. The change would make patients' out-of-pocket costs more consistent than the current system, where payments fluctuate in different stages of their Part D plan.
Justice Department approves $69 billion CVS Health-Aetna deal
Regulatory approval for the purchase is predicated on Aetna's previously announced plans to sell off its Medicare Part D business to WellCare Health.
Aetna sells off its Medicare Part D business to WellCare
"Aetna believes the Divestiture is a significant step toward completing the DOJ’s review of the CVS Health Transaction," the company wrote in its SEC filing.
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Trump once again favors allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices
This represents the president's second change of opinion on the matter in the last week.
Runaway cost of EpiPens hits taxpayers right in their Medicare
The abrupt rise is notable because many people think that life-threatening allergies are less common among the elderly. In addition, epinephrine — the active ingredient in EpiPens — can pose greater risks to older adults.
Medicare fraud investigators wary of soaring compounded drug prices
Spending on these medications in Medicare’s Part D program, for example, rose 56 percent last year, with some of the costliest products, including topical pain creams, priced at hundreds or thousands of dollars per tube.
Study: Medical marijuana slightly reduces Medicare Part D spending
The study, which appears in Health Affairs, is the first to examine whether legalization changes doctors’ clinical practice and whether it could curb public health costs.
3 Key changes proposed for Medicare Part D
The Obama administration is proposing several changes to the Medicare drug program, also known as Part D. They range from new limits on the number of plans insurers could offer consumers to new rules about what drugs those plans must cover. The plan also would prohibit exclusion of pharmacies from a plan’s “preferred pharmacy network” […]