U.S. prescription drug spending rose 13 percent in 2014 to $374 billion, the highest increase since 2001 when spending growth was 17 percent, according to a new report from IMS Health's Institute for Healthcare Informatics.
Innovative new drugs for the treatment of hepatitis C, cancer and multiple sclerosis and higher spending on diabetes drugs were the biggest contributors to spending growth, according to the report.
The report also found that demand for healthcare services declined in 2014, even though it was the first year of insurance coverage for millions of people under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The report highlighted that some newly insured individuals, particularly in Medicaid, contributed to a substantial increase in dispensed prescriptions.
Here are five other findings from the report:
1. In 2014, spending on new medicines including treatments for multiple sclerosis, cancer and diabetes drove nearly $9 billion of increased spending.
2. More than 161,000 patients started treatment for hepatitis C last year, nearly 10 times more than in the previous year.
3. Specialty medicine spending increased by 26.5 percent to $124.1 billion in 2014.
4. Retail prescription growth in the first year of expanded coverage under the PPACA was primarily driven by Medicaid. Overall, Medicaid prescriptions increased 16.8 percent last year.
5. Medicaid prescriptions increased 25.4 percent in states that expanded Medicaid coverage, and 2.8 percent in states that did not. Nearly 25 percent of exchange plan patients and 9 percent of Medicaid patients may have been previously uninsured.
More articles on healthcare finance:
South Sound Radiology, Zotec Partners create revenue cycle agreement
Mayo Clinic, Optum 360 partner to develop new revenue cycle services