MINNEAPOLIS – A new study of Medicare payments has found that, over a five-year period, payments for medications prescribed to people with neurologic conditions such as multiple sclerosis (MS), Parkinson’s disease and epilepsy have grown. 50% while the number of claims for these drugs rose by only 8%. The study is published in the March 10, 2021, online journal of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The study, funded by the American Academy of Neurology, found that most of the increase was due to rising costs for neuroimmunology drugs, mostly for multiple sclerosis.
“Previous research has shown that drugs prescribed for neurologic disease are the most expensive part of neurologic care for people on Medicare,” said study author Adam de Havenon, MD, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, and a member of America. Academy of Neurology. “Our study shows a significant increase in the prices of neurologic drugs over five years and the increase remained significant even after adjusting for inflation.”
For the study, researchers looked at data on Medicare Part D drug claims from 2013 to 2017. The study included 520 drugs. Of those, 322 were generic drugs, 61 of which were brand-name drugs non-gender equivalent and 137 were brand name drugs with gender equivalent.
There were 91 million drug claims for neurologic drugs during the study for which Medicare paid $ 27 billion dollars.
Researchers found that while the number of claims increased by only 8%, total pay for neurologic medications increased by 50%. Total annual payments increased from $ 4 billion in 2013 to $ 6 billion in 2017.
Researchers also found that neuroimmunology drugs, mostly for multiple sclerosis, represented more than 50% of total payments despite only 4% of claims. Payments for these drugs rose 47%, from $ 3,337 to $ 4,902 per claim.
“Most neurologic diseases and disorders are lifelong conditions and people with these disorders need medications to manage symptoms and reduce disability,” said James C. Stevens, MD, FAAN , President of the American Academy of Neurology. “The American Academy of Neurology is dedicated to promoting patient-centered, high-quality neurologic care and reducing drug prices is a priority. The American Academy of Neurology advocates for price control on Capitol Hill including support for Medicare drug price negotiations. “
With an adjustment for inflation, payments for brand-name drugs increased 42% and brand-name drugs increased by gender equivalent by 45% while payments for sexual drugs rose by less than 1%.
Of the drug claims, generic drug prescriptions rose from 82% to 88% of total claims, brand-name drug prescriptions rose from 5% to 6% and prescriptions for generic-branded brand-name drugs decreased from 13% to 6%.
“Our research shows that generic medications are prescribed more often, which may help reduce costs, but there are no common equivalents available for brand-name medications,” de Havenon said. “The rise in the cost of some drugs needs to be sustained or reversed. The most effective solution is to find ways to control the price of drugs. Neurimmunology drugs for multiple sclerosis are the best place to start.”
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The American Academy of Neurology is the world’s largest association of neurologists and neuroscience professionals, with more than 36,000 members. The AAN is specifically designed to promote the highest quality, patient-centered neurologic care. A neurologist is a doctor with special training in diagnosing, treating and managing disorders of the brain and nervous system such as Alzheimer’s disease, stroke, migraine, multiple sclerosis, concussion, Parkinson’s disease and epilepsy.
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