GAO: Drug Rebates Don’t Lower Costs for Medicare Patients

Managed Healthcare Executive September 12, 2023
Denise Myshko

In total, Medicare beneficiaries paid $21 billion for 100 drugs that receive the most rebates, while health plans paid $5.3 billion after rebates.

Healthcare insurers that provide Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage received $48.6 billion in rebates from drug manufacturers in 2021, according to a recent report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). But the rebates did not lower individual beneficiary costs for prescription drugs, the GAO found. The prices that patients paid was based on the cost of the drug before rebates, while what plans paid was the cost after rebates.

In total, beneficiaries paid $21 billion for 100 drugs that received the most rebates, while health plans paid $5.3 billion after rebates. In fact, Medicare patients...

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