2013 is the most recent year for which CMS has data on drug usage and costs for the 36 million people who are enrolled in the Part D program. CMS was clear about the intent behind making this data public: to lower spending on prescription drugs. Their fact sheet on the data notes, “This new dataset provides key information to consumers, providers, researchers, and other stakeholders to help drive transformation of the health care delivery system. This data enables a wide range of analyses on the type of prescription drugs prescribed in the Medicare Part D program, and on prescription drug utilization and spending generally.”
To see the 10 costliest drugs that are covered by Medicare Part D, click here and the read the LifeHealthPro article in its entirety.
