Abstract 4119868: Statin and PCSK9 Inhibitor Utilization and Spending in Medicaid between 2018 to 2022: A National Analysis

Abstract

Introduction: Low-income working-aged adults in the Medicaid program have a high burden of cardiovascular risk factors and disease, but often face barriers accessing necessary therapies. Little is known about contemporary patterns of utilization and spending on lipid-lowering therapies in Medicaid programs. Goal: To evaluate national trends in utilization and spending on statins and proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 inhibitors (PCSK9i) in Medicaid. Methods: We performed a serial cross-sectional study using the Medicaid Spending by Drug Database, which contains national-level Medicaid spending data for medications partially or fully reimbursed by Medicaid for the approximately 84 million beneficiaries. We evaluated annual trends in utilization (prescription fills) and total spending for statins and PCSK9i from 2018 to 2022, both overall and by individual drug formulation. Spending was adjusted for inflation and reported in 2022 US dollars. Results: Medicaid beneficiaries filled 20.4 million statin prescriptions in 2018 compared to 20.3 million in 2022, representing a 0.4% decrease. However, Medicaid spending on statins decreased by 7.1%, from $246.2 million to $226.8 million over the same period. Prescription fills for generic Rosuvastatin increased the most (0.79 million to 2.6 million, +224.2%), while fills for brand-name Crestor decreased the most (0.065 million to 0.003 million, -95.2%). Medicaid beneficiaries filled 121,737 prescriptions for PCSK9 inhibitors in 2022 compared to 7,617 in 2018 (+1498%), coinciding with a 640% increase in total spending ($8.9 million to $65.7 million). Repatha Sureclick was the most filled PCSK9i in Medicaid with 80,503 fills in 2022, representing $43.9 million in total Medicaid spending. Conclusions: Despite almost no change in statin utilization between 2018 and 2022, Medicaid spending on statins fell by approximately $20 million, driven by a shift from brand-name to generic formulations. In contrast, spending on PCSK9 inhibitors increased by $57 million as these medications became more widely used. Understanding these trends is critical as Medicaid programs work to ensure access to effective cardiovascular therapies while also identifying opportunities for cost efficiencies nationwide.