KFF: 10 Essential Facts About Medicare and Prescription Drug Spending

1. Medicare’s share of the nation’s retail prescription drug spending has increased from 18% in 2006 to 30% in 2017.
2. Prescription drugs covered under both Part B and Part D accounted for 19% of all Medicare spending in 2016.
3. Ten drugs accounted for 17% of all Part D spending in 2016 (including both Medicare and out-of-pocket spending).
4. After a period of relatively slow growth, Medicare Part D spending per enrollee is projected to increase at a faster rate in the coming decade.
5. Spending for catastrophic coverage (“reinsurance”) has increased as a share of total Medicare Part D spending, from 14% in 2006 to 40% in 2017.
6. Prescription drugs accounted for $1 in every $5 that Medicare beneficiaries spent out-of-pocket on health care services in 2016, not including premiums.
7. Medicare Part D enrollees who did not receive low-income subsidies spent about $500 out of pocket on their prescriptions in 2016, on average, but 1 million enrollees with spending above the catastroph
8. Average Part D enrollees’ out-of-pocket spending in the catastrophic phase dropped in 2011 due to the Affordable Care Act provision to phase out the coverage gap—but costs for this group are on the ri
9. Medicare Part D enrollees can pay thousands of dollars out of pocket for specialty tier drugs, with the majority of costs for many specialty drugs occurring in the catastrophic phase of the benefit.
10. Many proposals to reduce prescription drug costs enjoy broad support among Democrats and Republicans.

Source: Kaiser Family Foundation, January 29, 2019
Source URL: https://www.kff.org/infographic/10-essential-facts-about-med...

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