PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEMay 15, 2018

Contact: CMS Media Relations(202) 690-6145 | CMS Media Inquiries

CMS Unveils Enhanced “Drug Dashboards” to Increase Transparency on Drug Prices An important part of the American Patients First initiative, the Dashboards provide new information on changes in spending per drug over time

Today, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a redesigned version of the Drug Spending Dashboards. For the first time, the dashboards include year-over-year information on drug pricing and highlight which manufactures have been increasing their prices.

“Under President Trump’s bold leadership, CMS is committed to putting patients first and increasing transparency,” said CMS Administrator Seema Verma. “Publishing how much individual drugs cost from one year to the next will provide much-needed clarity and will empower patients and doctors with the information they need. As Secretary Azar has repeatedly pointed out, for years Medicare incentives have actually encouraged higher list prices for drugs, and this updated and enhanced dashboard is an important step to bringing transparency and accountability to what has been a largely hidden process.”

The dashboards are interactive online tools that allow patients, clinicians, researchers, and the public to understand trends in drug spending. Data is reported for both Medicare and Medicaid. The new version of the dashboard reports the percentage change in spending on drugs per dosage unit and includes an expanded list of drugs.

Some of the most commonly used drugs across Medicare Part B, Medicare Part D, and Medicaid saw double-digit annual increases over the last few years. A few examples are highlighted in the tables below. Taking the 15 drugs with the highest total spending in each program, the drugs listed in the tables saw significant annual increases in spending per dosage unit from 2012 to 2016. Drugs were included if they experienced annual increases of at least 5 percent in Part B and at least 10 percent in Part D and Medicaid.

In 2012, Medicare spent 17 percent of its total budget, or $109 billion, on prescription drugs. Four years later in 2016, spending had increased to 23 percent, or $174 billion. In 2016, the drugs listed below accounted for $39 billion in total spending by Medicare and Medicaid.

Medicare Part B
	Brand Name	Generic Name	Annual Growth Rate (2012-2016)	Average Monthly Spending Per Beneficiary in 2016	Manufacturers
1	Orencia*	Abatacept*	17.2% ($22 to $41)	$2,136	BMS Primarycare
2	Neulasta	Pegfilgrastim	8.5% ($2,788 to $3,869)	$1,195	Amgen
3	Xolair	Omalizumab	8.0% ($22 to $30)	$1,821	Genentech, Inc.
4	Vaccine Influenza Injection Muscle (Fluzone High-Dose)**		6.9% ($30 to $39)	N/A
5	Sandostatin Lar*	Octreotide Acetate, mi-Spheres*	6.8% ($123 to $160)	$3,202	Novartis
6	Prevnar 13	Pneumococcal 13-Valent Vaccine	6.1% ($132 to $167)	N/A	Wyeth Pharm
7	Remicade	Infliximab	6.0% ($63 to $80)	$1,910	Janssen Biotech
8	Rituxan	Rituximab	5.6% ($615 to $765)	$1,985	Genentech, Inc.

*Indicates multiple brand and/or generic names for a specific HCPCS code. **Indicates brand/generic names unavailable. Name reflects the HCPCS short description.

Medicare Part D
	Brand Name	Generic Name	Annual Growth Rate (2012-2016)	Average Monthly Spending Per Beneficiary in 2016	Manufacturers
1	Renvela	Sevelamer Carbonate	21.6% ($3 to $6)	$630	Genzyme
2	Lantus	Insulin Glargine, Hum.Rec.Anlog	18.6% ($13 to $25)	$209	Sanofi-Aventis
3	Zetia	Ezetimibe	18.3% ($5 to $9)	$181	Merck Sharp & D
4	Enbrel	Etanercept	18.2% ($498 to $972)	$2,741	Amgen
5	Humira Pen	Adalimumab	18.0% ($1,019 to $1,976)	$2,835	Abbvie US LLC
6	Lyrica	Pregabalin	17.4% ($3 to $6)	$205	Pfizer US Pharm
7	Lantus Solostar	Insulin Glargine, Hum.Rec.Anlog	14.2% ($14 to $25)	$196	Sanofi-Aventis
8	Crestor	Rosuvastatin Calcium	13.2% ($5 to $8)	$124	Astrazeneca
9	Januvia	Sitagliptin Phosphate	12.7% ($7 to $12)	$235	Merck Sharp & D
10	Xarelto	Rivaroxaban	10.6% ($8 to $12)	$202	Janssen Pharm.
11	Eliquis	Apixaban	10.4% ($4 to $6)	$194	BMS Primarycare

Medicaid
	Brand Name	Generic Name	Annual Growth Rate (2012-2016)	Manufacturers
1	Lantus	Insulin Glargine, Hum.Rec.Anlog	18.7% ($13 to $25)	Sanofi-Aventis
2	Latuda	Lurasidone HCl	18.6% ($17 to $33)	Sunovion Pharma
3	Lyrica	Pregabalin	17.9% ($3 to $6)	Pfizer US Pharm
4	Enbrel	Etanercept	17.6% ($487 to $933)	Amgen
5	Humira Pen	Adalimumab	17.5% ($1,007 to $1,919)	Abbvie US LLC
6	Lantus Solostar	Insulin Glargine, Hum.Rec.Anlog	14.3% ($15 to $25)	Sanofi-Aventis
7	Abilify	Aripiprazole	11.4% ($21 to $32)	Otsuka America
8	Vyvanse	Lisdexamfetamine Dimesylate	11.0% ($5 to $8)	Shire US Inc.

Also, as part of CMS’s commitment to transparency and data release, CMS today is updating the Part D Prescriber Public Use File (PUF) with data for 2016. This file includes summarized information on the more than one million distinct health care providers who prescribed drugs under the Part D program in 2016. This information enables a range of analyses to be performed on prescribing trends in Part D. The Part D Prescriber PUF is available at: https://www.cms.gov/Research-Statistics-Data-and-Systems/Statistics-Trends-and-Reports/Medicare-Provider-Charge-Data/Part-D-Prescriber.html.

In all of CMS’s efforts, CMS protects the privacy and security of healthcare data. None of today’s releases include any patient-identifiable data. The dashboards and a downloadable, machine-readable version of the data presented in the dashboards can be accessed at: https://www.cms.gov/Research-Statistics-Data-and-Systems/Statistics-Trends-and-Reports/Information-on-Prescription-Drugs/index.html.

For more information, please visit the fact sheet here: https://www.cms.gov/Newsroom/MediaReleaseDatabase/Fact-sheets/2018-Fact-sheets-items/2018-05-15.html