CMS releases Medicare prescription drug cost data

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) said Thursday that new, privacy-protected data on Medicare Part D prescription drugs prescribed by physicians and other health care professionals in 2013 is now available.

“This transparency will give patients, researchers, and providers access to information that will help shape the future of our nation’s health for the better,” CMS acting Administrator Andy Slavitt said.

The data reveals which prescription drugs were prescribed to Medicare Part D beneficiaries by which practitioners.

“Beneficiaries’ personal information is not available; however, it’s important for consumers, their providers, researchers and other stakeholders to know how many prescription drugs are prescribed and how much they cost the health care system so that they can better understand how the Medicare Part D program delivers care,” Slavitt said.

The data has information from more than 1 million health care providers who together prescribed approximately $103 billion in prescription drugs and supplies paid under the Part D program. The data shows the individual prescribing patterns of health providers that participate in Medicare Part D for more than 3,000 drug products.

This act of transparency is part of an initiative to achieve better overall care, Slavitt said.

A fact sheet on the Medicare Part D prescriber data is available at http://cms.gov/Newsroom/MediaReleaseDatabase/Fact-sheets/2015-Fact-sheets-items/2015-04-30.html.