Cutting Costs, Not Care: New Models for Affordable Men's Health Medications
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To determine the cost savings that the Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company (CDPC) and GoodRx could provide, in comparison to Medicaid, for drugs commonly prescribed in men's health-related conditions: erectile dysfunction, benign prostatic hyperplasia, premature ejaculation, and male infertility.
METHODS: We reviewed several of the most commonly prescribed drugs for each indication at various doses, including Tamsulosin, Anastrozole, Clomiphene, Sildenafil, Tadalafil, Vardenafil, Finasteride, Paroxetine, and Sertraline. Using publicly available Medicare data sheets, we determined the total Medicare spending in 2022 for each drug and the total number of drug units dispensed. We then calculated the cost per unit using CPDC and GoodRx pricing and multiplied these by the total number of units dispensed by Medicare. This yielded the potential total spending on each drug if purchased through CPDC or GoodRx. Finally, we compared Medicare's actual spending with the estimated spending under each alternative platform.
RESULTS: The total 2022 Medicare cost for the nine studied drugs was $970 million. If purchased through CPDC, the estimated total costs for 30-, 60-, and 90-count fills would have been $760 million, $447 million, and $340 million, respectively. CPDC was cheaper than Medicare for all drugs except sertraline at 30-count fills, and clomiphene at all count fills. The largest savings were seen in erectile dysfunction treatments. CPDC was also consistently cheaper…
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