Variation in per Beneficiary Prescription Utilization and Spending By Race/Ethnicity in Medicare and Medicaid Insurance Claims
AUTHORS
Tyler D. Wagner, PharmD, PhD, Jon D. Campbell, PhD; Rayan K. Salih, PharmD and Gabri’el D. Shabazz, MPH of the National Pharmaceutical Council and Maitreyi Sahu, MSPH, Meera Beauchamp, Andrew DeJarnatt, Kayla Taylor, MPH and Joseph L. Dieleman, PhD of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation and the University of Washington
Overview
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) estimated the US spent $405.9 billion on retail prescription drugs in 2022. However, these resources are inequitably distributed, and CMS has established a roadmap for health equity. This research quantifies the variation in the Medicare and Medicaid per beneficiary prescription utilization and spending. Authors found that substantial variation exists in Medicare and Medicaid prescription utilization and spending by race/ethnicity.
