There has been a substantial increase in the use of certain diabetes drugs in recent years. Certain diabetes drugs initially approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to help control blood sugar levels for individuals with type 2 diabetes are known to be effective weight loss agents. Medicare Part D covers diabetes drugs for FDA-approved indications, such as type 2 diabetes, but it does not cover drugs prescribed for weight loss.

This data brief presents information about trends in national Medicare spending on and utilization of 10 selected diabetes drugs. For this data brief, we have identified that Medicare Part D spending on these 10 selected diabetes drugs increased by 364 percent, from $7.7 billion in 2019 to $35.8 billion in 2023. During the same time, there was an increase in prescriptions and prescribers who work in a broad range of specialties. Meanwhile, the number of Medicare Part D enrollees increased 12 percent, from 44.9 million to 50.5 million. We estimated that Medicare spending for the 10 selected diabetes drugs could reach $102 billion by 2026.

This substantial increase could have a financial impact on the Medicare program. Information in this data brief may be beneficial to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and other policymakers when developing future program guidance related to these drugs.

Because this data brief contains no recommendations, CMS did not provide written comments on our draft data brief but did furnish technical comments, which we addressed as appropriate.