STAT+: Medicare would have saved $3.7 billion on Part B drugs if inflationary rebates were around in a recent three-year period
If rebates had been required for price hikes on most of the nearly 100 medicines covered by Medicare during a recent three-year period, the U.S. government program would have saved $3.7 billion, or 3% of the total spending on so-called Part B medicines, a new analysis found.
More specifically, 70 of the 93 top-selling drugs covered by the Medicare Part B program – which are typically pricier medicines that are administered by physicians or in hospitals – between 2018 and 2020 would have been subject to inflationary rebates each year, according to the analysis published in JAMA. Most of these medicines were used to treat different forms of cancer and immune system disorders.
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