Government May Pay $50B For New Breakthrough Drugs, Study Estimates
According to a report by Avalere Health, a consulting firm, Medicare would bear the majority of the cost, spending $31.3 billion over the next 10 years on improved treatments for diseases like Hepatitis C and breast cancer. Medicaid is estimated to spend $15.8 billion on the drugs. Meanwhile, another report finds that health care costs may go up 6.5 percent next year.
The Hill:
Ten New Drugs Will Cost Government $50B, Report Says
Ten new medications are expected to cost the government almost $50 billion in drug spending, according to a new report. The report from the consulting firm Avalere Health, commissioned by an insurance company trade group, falls into a long-running campaign by insurers against what they call exorbitant prices that they and the government must pay for drugs. (Sullivan, 6/8)
The Wall Street Journal's Pharmalot:
New Breakthrough Drugs Will Cost The U.S. Government How Much Money?
As debate intensifies over the prices for prescription medicines, a new study suggests that 10 so-called breakthrough drugs – including some that have not yet been approved by the FDA – will cost the U.S. government nearly $50 billion over the next decade. Specifically, Medicare would absorb the largest expense at $31.3 billion, followed by an estimated $15.8 billion in Medicaid spending and another $2.1 billion in spending as a result of subsidies provided through health exchange plans created under the Affordable Care Act. (Silverman, 6/8)
Politico Pro:
Health Care Costs Projected To Rise 6.5 Percent In 2016
Health care costs are expected to rise 6.5 percent next year, the lowest anticipated rate of growth in a decade but still well above that of inflation, according to a new report. The report by PwC’s Health Research Institute sees the higher spending pushed by the spiraling cost of specialty drugs, including breakthrough treatments for hepatitis C and efforts to counter the increasing prevalence of cyberattacks aimed at health care companies. (Demko, 6/9)
