Hepatitis C drugs top the Medicaid spending charts

What Utah's Medicaid program paid for a few hundred people to use Gilead Sciences' hepatitis C drugs Sovaldi and
Harvoni outranked the cost of medications prescribed to thousands of patients for more common conditions such as
diabetes and depression.

Top 10 drugs, 2013-2015, ranked by amount of Medicaid spending

2013
Drug name

Used to treat

Claims

Abilify (5mg)

Mental/mood disorders
(bipolar, schizophrenia)

6,243

Lantus (100mg)

Diabetes (long-acting
insulin glarging)

15,005

Abilify (10mg)

Mental/mood disorders
(bipolar, schizophrenia)

4,531

Cymbalta (60mg)

Depression and anxiety;

relief of nerve pain

13,083

Synagis (100mg)

Respiratory Synctial Virus

(RSV) in children

1,047

Humalog (100mg) Diabetes (fast-acting

7,596

insulin)
Abilify (15mg)

Mental/mood disorders
(bipolar, schizophrenia)

Pulmozyme (1mg) Humalog

3,066
726

Ventolin HFA

Breathing problems such 43,521

as asthma

Freestyle Tes Lite

Blood glucose monitoring for diabetes

12,432

Used to treat

Claims

Allowed amount

$4.44 million
$3.72
$3.13
$2.85
$2.72
$2.04
$1.95
$1.87
$1.87
$1.80

2014
Drug name

Sovaldi (400mg) Chronic hepatitis C 1,

2, 3, or 4 infection

Allowed amount

205

$5.56 million

Abilify (5mg)

Mental/mood disorders
(bipolar, schizophrenia)

6,455

Lantus (100mg)

Diabetes (long-acting
insulin glarging)

15,476

Abilify (10mg)

Mental/mood disorders
(bipolar, schizophrenia)

4,756

Cymbalta (60mg)

Depression and anxiety;

relief of nerve pain

12,881

$2.98

Synagis (100mg)

Respiratory Synctial Virus

(RSV) in children

1,070

$2.91

Humalog (100mg) Mental/mood disorders

7,884

Abilify (15mg)

Mental/mood disorders
(bipolar, schizophrenia)

3,090

Abilify (20mg)

Mental/mood disorders
(bipolar, schizophrenia)

1,989

Ventolin HFA

Breathing problems such 45,325

as asthma

(bipolar, schizophrenia)

$5.47
$5.34
$3.96

$2.46
$2.26
$2.12
$2.03

2015
Drug name

Used to treat

Claims

Abilify (5mg)

Mental/mood disorders
(bipolar, schizophrenia)

6,333

Harvoni (400mg) Chronic hepatitis C 1,

211

2, 3, or 4 infection
Lantus (100mg)

Diabetes (long-acting
insulin glarging)

15,046

Abilify (10mg)

Mental/mood disorders
(bipolar, schizophrenia)

4,567

Sovaldi (400mg) Chronic hepatitis C 1,

161

2, 3, or 4 infection
Alphanate (Inj)

Clots blood in patients

with hemophilia A

8,148

Abilify (15mg)

Mental/mood disorders
(bipolar, schizophrenia)

2,924

Abilify (20mg)

Mental/mood disorders
(bipolar, schizophrenia)

1,950

Invega Sust (Inj)

Breathing problems such 1,116

as asthma

Source: U.S. Food and Drug Administration

$6.05 million
$6.02
$5.76
$4.23
$3.70

65

Humalog (100mg) Mental/mood disorders

(bipolar, schizophrenia)

Allowed amount

$3.20
$2.93
$2.42
$2.33
$2.22
The Salt Lake Tribune