Prescription drugs: Medicare spending on drugs with direct-to-consumer advertising : report to Committee on the Judiciary, U.S. Senate
- Collection:
- Health Policy and Services Research
- Contributor(s):
- United States. Government Accountability Office, issuing body. United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on the Judiciary, issuing body.
- Publication:
- Washington, DC : United States Government Accountability Office, May 2021
- Language(s):
- English
- Format:
- Text
- Subject(s):
- Advertising -- statistics & numerical data Drug Industry -- statistics & numerical data Government Regulation Medicare -- economics United States
- Genre(s):
- Technical Report
- Abstract:
- Why GAO did this study. Drug manufacturers use advertising on television and in other media to promote the use of their drugs to consumers and to encourage them to visit their doctors for more information. From 2016 through 2018, the Medicare program and beneficiaries spent $560 billion on drugs, and spending is projected to increase with the use of newer, more expensive drugs and an increase in beneficiaries. GAO was asked to examine DTCA and Medicare spending on advertised drugs. This report examines (1) drug manufacturer spending on DTCA; (2) Medicare spending on advertised drugs; and (3) changes in DTCA spending and Medicare use and spending for selected drugs. GAO analyzed DTCA spending data from Nielsen Media, and Medicare Parts B and D Drug Spending Dashboard data, from 2016 through 2018 (the most recent available data at the time of GAO’s analysis). GAO also analyzed DTCA spending and Medicare data for a non-generalizable selection of four advertised drugs over a longer period—from 2010 through 2018. The four drugs were selected to reflect differences in DTCA and Medicare spending, beneficiary use, and medical conditions treated. GAO also interviewed or obtained information from officials representing 14 stakeholder groups (including research, trade, and physician organizations; and drug manufacturers of the four selected drugs) about DTCA spending and drug use and spending. The Department of Health and Human Services provided technical comments on a draft of this report, which GAO incorporated as appropriate.
- Copyright:
- The National Library of Medicine believes this item to be in the public domain. (More information)
- Extent:
- 1 online resource (1 PDF file (iii, 39 pages))
- Illustrations:
- Illustrations
- NLM Unique ID:
- 9918317485006676 (See catalog record)
- Permanent Link:
- http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/9918317485006676