A look at Medicare’s top 20 priciest prescription drugs in 2015, ranked by their cost above the program’s “catastrophic” coverage threshold. Medicare’s catastrophic protection kicks in after a beneficiary has spent a given amount of their own money, $4,850 this year. The beneficiary pays only 5 percent, while their insurer pays 15 percent, and taxpayers cover 80 percent. Catastrophic spending is a large and growing share of total costs, threatening to make Medicare’s popular prescription plan financially unsustainable.
Drug Name Uses Cost
Harvoni Hepatitis C $6.3 billion
Revlimid Cancer $1.7 billion
Sovaldi Hepatitis C $1.2 billion
Copaxone Multiple sclerosis $1.1 billion
Gleevec Cancer $1 billion
Humira Pen Rheumatoid arthritis $886 million
Tecfidera Multiple sclerosis $724 million
Renvela Kidney disease $675 million
Xtandi Prostate Cancer $633 million
Lantus Solostar Diabetes $633 million
Zytiga Prostate cancer $623 million
Enbrel Sureclick Rheumatoid arthritis $586 million
Abilify Mental illness $555 million
Sensipar Kidney disease $533 million
Truvada HIV $525 million
Aripiprazole Mental illness $504 million
Lantus Diabetes $484 million
Imbruvica Cancer $473 million
H.P. Acthar Multiple sclerosis $467 million
Lyrica Seizures $461 million
Some medications have additional uses.
Cost above catastrophic threshold in 2015; includes spending by taxpayers, insurers and beneficiaries.
Source: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Office of the Actuary