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Medicare, Private Insurers Waste $3 Billion on Cancer Drugs That Are Thrown Away

Drug makers sell one-size-fits-all vials which means patients pay more for medicine they don’t receive

AP
March 2, 2016

The Medicare program and private health insurers spend $3 billion on cancer medicines that are disposed of because the vials hold too much medicine for patients, the New York Times reported.

"The expensive drugs are usually injected by nurses working in doctors’ offices and hospitals who carefully measure the amount needed for a particular patient and then, because of safety concerns, discard the rest," the article states.

"If drug makers distributed vials containing smaller quantities, nurses could pick the right volume for a patient and minimize waste," NYT explains. "Instead, many drug makers exclusively sell one-size-fits-all vials, ensuring that many smaller patients pay thousands of dollars for medicine they are never given."

Non-cancer drugs have also contributed to waste as researchers found that quantities of disposed Remicade, an arthritis drug, were valued at $500 million.

"Medicare and many private insurers charge patients drug co-payments of as much as 20 percent, which can add up to tens of thousands of dollars annually for the latest drugs; much is spent on cancer medicines that patients never receive," the article states.

"The researchers analyzed the waste generated by the top 20 selling cancer medicines and concluded that insurers paid drug makers $1.8 billion annually on discarded quantities and then spent about $1 billion on markups to doctors and hospitals."

Published under: Medicare