Medicare spending on name-brand drugs rose by 77 percent over five years, even as usage fell

[McFurd]

NBC News - 6/5/2018 - Martha C, White - Seniors are paying more for name-brand drugs, while getting fewer of them, according to a new government report.The Inspector General’s Office of the Health and Human Services Department found that reimbursement costs for name-brand drugs obtained by patients through Medicare Part D plans jumped by 77 percent between 2011 and 2015, even though there was a drop of 17 percent in the number of prescriptions written for these drugs over that time period. The percentage of Medicare beneficiaries who have to pay more than $2,000 a year for name-brand drugs doubled over those years. Read more @ https://www.nbcnews.com/business/busine ... ve-n880096