Fact Based List:

KFF: 10 Essential Facts About Medicare and Prescription Drug Spending

  1. Medicare accounts for a Growing Share of the Nation’s Prescription Drug Spending: 29% In 2015 Compared To 18% In 2006, the First Year of the Part D Benefit.
  2. Prescription Drugs accounted for $110 Billion In Medicare Spending In 2015, 17% of all Medicare Spending That Year.
  3. The 10 Drugs with the Highest Total Medicare Part D Spending accounted for 21% of all Part D Spending In 2015 (Including Both Medicare Spending and Beneficiary Out-of-Pocket Costs).
  4. Medicare Part D Drug Plans Have Negotiated Steadily Higher Manufacturer Rebates Since 2006, the First Year of the Part D Benefit.
  5. Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Spending Per Enrollee Is Projected To Grow Over the Next Decade at Nearly Twice the Rate Than It Did In the Early Years of the Part D Program.
  6. As New High-Cost Specialty Drugs Become available, Part D Spending In the Catastrophic Coverage Phase of the Benefit Has Increased as a Share of Total Drug Costs, From 14% In 2006 To 38% In 2016.
  7. Prescription Drugs accounted for Nearly $1 In Every $5 That Medicare Beneficiaries Spent Out-of-Pocket On Health Care Services In 2013, Not Including Premiums.
  8. Medicare Part D Enrollees Who Did Not Receive Low-Income Subsidies Spent about $500 Out of Pocket On their Prescriptions In 2015, On average, But Some Part D Enrollees Spent Considerably More.
  9. Average OOP Spending By Part D Enrollees With High OOP Costs Dropped Substantially In 2011, Due To ACA Provision To Phase Out Coverage Gap By 2020—But Costs for This Group are Rising Again.
  10. High and Rising Drug Costs are a Concern for the Public, and Many Leading Proposals To Reduce Costs for all People—Including Medicare Beneficiaries—Enjoy Broad Support.

Source: Kaiser Family Foundation, November 10, 2017
Source URL: https://www.kff.org/infographic/10-essential-facts-about-med...