STAT+: With growing usage and few generics, Medicare spending on inhalers is climbing
Over a recent seven-year period, Medicare Part D spending on inhalers used to control respiratory problems increased $2 billion, or a whopping 44%, as more people used the devices, according to a new study. However, a lack of lower-cost generic options has also allowed prices to remain high.
From 2012 to 2018, the federal health care program spent $39.7 billion — adjusted for inflation and discounts — on inhalers to help plan beneficiaries combat asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD. By 2018, the nine different classes of inhalers accounted for nearly 7% of $168 billion in overall spending by the Part D plan.
