Specialty pharmacy under Medicaid is a bellwether for making observations on the broader specialty market and where the market is headed. Since Medicaid is state administered, the amount of reporting – and transparency – seems to be quite a bit more robust. The Magellan Rx team is one of the better sources of annual trend analytics and they’ve again done a great job with their 2020 Medicaid Pharmacy Trend Report.
The report also now includes a standard in-depth analysis of the top drug classes including six additional categories that provide a superior overview of classes with significant net dollar impact.
Key findings in this year’s Medicaid report include:
Specialty drugs accounted for 1.3 percent of utilization but 48.5 percent of 2016 net cost.
Traditional net spending on drugs decreased 0.4 percent from 2018 to 2019.
Unit cost, not utilization, drove specialty trend in 2019. The net cost per claim increased by $141.12, while utilization decreased by 0.9 percent.
Total net spend on specialty drugs increased by 2.4 percent suggesting that specialty drugs will account for 50 percent of total net spend for 2020.
Claim volume remains virtually unchanged
CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THE FULL REPORT (Select 2020 / Read the report)
Magellan Rx Management Releases Fifth Annual Medicaid Pharmacy Trend Report
November 13, 2020 — Magellan Rx Management, the full-service pharmacy benefits management division of Magellan Health, Inc. (NASDAQ: MGLN), released its fifth annual Medicaid Pharmacy Trend Report, the industry’s leading report exclusively detailing trends in the Medicaid pharmacy fee-for-service (FFS) space and the only detailed source examining Medicaid FFS gross and net drug spend trends.
“As a national leader in pharmacy benefit management, with more than 40 years of experience, we maintain a deep understanding of the complexities within the Medicaid space related to prescription drug costs and utilization trends,” said Meredith Delk, PhD, MSW, general manager and senior vice president, government markets, Magellan Rx Management. “The Medicaid Trend Report is one tool of many we deploy that provides value to our more than 25 government customers and Medicaid agencies across the country. We are delighted to release it for the fifth consecutive year.”
Developed through in-depth data analysis and supported by Magellan’s broad national experience managing Medicaid FFS pharmacy, the Medicaid Pharmacy Trend Report highlights the evolving landscape of Medicaid prescription drugs and anticipates the trends and challenges in the Medicaid FFS space.
“States are faced with inherent challenges related to the variability in the Medicaid program due to fluctuations in enrollment, enabling legislation and pharmacy program design,” said Chris Andrews, Pharm.D., vice president, value-based purchasing, Magellan Rx Management. “The Medicaid Trend Report clearly illustrates critical data-driven observations and helpful solutions that can assist states as they continue to explore and implement efforts to balance the growing cost of state Medicaid programs with state budget projections as they focus on achieving improved outcomes for Medicaid patients.”
The Magellan Rx Management Medicaid Pharmacy Trend Report includes data derived from Magellan Rx’s Medicaid FFS pharmacy programs in 25 states and the District of Columbia.
