Metabolic drugs top the list of medication spending for the elderly
Contemporary Long-Term Care Weekly, March 18, 2010
The cost of prescription drugs bought for Medicare beneficiaries reached $81.7 billion in 2007, with approximately 23% of those purchases ($18.6 billion) attributed to metabolic drugs, according to data recently published by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
Metabolic drugs are most frequently used with the elderly to manage diabetes or to help lower cholesterol. Spending for cardiovascular medications reached $14.7 billion, which was the next highest amount. Drugs to treat or manage central nervous system conditions ($8.4 billion), gastrointestinal medications ($7 billion), and hormones ($5.4 billion) rounded out the top five, which accounted for roughly two-thirds of total spending.
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