The Impact Of New Hepatitis C Drugs On National Health Spending

Those who follow Altarum Institute’s monthly health sector briefs and trend reports are well aware that the five-year run of record low growth rates in national health spending (from 2009 through 2013) has come to an end, or at least been interrupted. According to data just released by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), health spending grew by 5.3 percent in 2014, compared to 2.9 percent in 2013 and roughly 4 percent from 2009 through 2012. Our estimates for the first eight months of 2015 show growth of 6.2 percent, though on a downward path, indicating that the year could finish at around 6 percent growth. Many analysts had predicted well in advance an increased health spending growth rate for 2014 due to the implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). The expanded coverage provisions of the ACA were expected to increase the number of persons with health insurance and hence health spending (Note 1). However, the huge jump in prescription drug spending that occurred in 2014 was unforeseen. In 2013, spending on prescription drugs grew by only 2.4 percent, but in 2014, it skyrocketed to 12.2 percent. Some of this increase in spending on prescription drugs is due to expanded coverage, and some is due to the acceleration in prescription drug prices. A major source of this growth was the introduction of Sovaldi in December 2013, and Harvoni in October 2014. Both are very expensive breakthrough drugs for the treatment of hepatitis ...
Source: Health Affairs Blog - Category: Health Management Authors: Tags: Costs and Spending Drugs and Medical Technology Featured Medicare Quality Harvoni hepatitis C Prescription Drugs Sovaldi spending growth Source Type: blogs