STAT+: Medicare spending on neurology drugs jumped, while number of claims barely budged
During a recent five-year period, Medicare spending on hundreds of medicines to treat various neurologic conditions, such as epilepsy and multiple sclerosis, rose 50%, but the number of claims increased only 8%, according to a new study.
Consequently, Medicare spent $4 billion in 2013 but doled out $6 billion by 2017 for these treatments. In addition, neurology medicines, mostly those used to combat multiple sclerosis, accounted for more than 50% of total Medicare payments, despite representing just 4% of all claims filed. The study also found that spending for these drugs rose 47%, from $3,337 per claim to $4,902.
