How much has Medicare spent on Acthar?
Tenfold growth between 2011 and 2015, to more than $500 million in that year alone — concentrated among 203 high-prescribing specialists whose volume could not be explained by sicker patients, raising questions about whether marketing drove adoption.
A lot, and quickly. Researchers at Oregon Health & Science University and Oregon State found Medicare spending on Acthar increased tenfold between 2011 and 2015, totalling $1.3 billion, with more than $500 million in 2015 alone. Spending was highly concentrated: in 2014, 203 frequent prescribers, mainly rheumatologists, neurologists and nephrologists, accounted for about 42% of Medicare spending on the drug. The researchers found this prescribing could not be explained by these doctors treating sicker patients. The volume of spending prompted questions about how an old, niche drug had become one of Medicare's costliest medicines, and whether marketing to specialists had driven its adoption in conditions where cheaper alternatives existed.