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Prescriptions for selected specialty therapy areas, 2013 and 2018 (Source: IQVIA, “Medicine Use and Spending in the U.S.,” May 2019) |
Nondiscounted spending includes all fees and other costs in the pharmaceutical supply chain, such as rebates and dispensing fees. Some say it is a more accurate figure for drug expenditures than, say, the net revenue of manufacturers, which is more commonly reported. Express Scripts painted a similar picture to IQVIA’s in its 2018 Drug Trend report.
In 2018, spending on traditional and specialty medicines seesawed for Express Scripts’ amalgam of commercial, Medicaid, Medicare, and ACA plans; spending on traditional medicines fell by 5.8% while spending on specialty medications rose by 9.4%. Express Scripts reported that specialty medications accounted for 44.7% of its total pharmacy expenditures, a number very close to the proportion reported by IQVIA. The company warned in its report that the specialty medicines could reach 50% of total pharmacy expenditures as soon as next year.
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