For the list, Medicare’s top 20 costliest drugs in 2015 were ranked according to their cost above the program’s catastrophic coverage threshold. Medicare’s catastrophic coverage threshold is $4,850 in 2016. After a Medicare beneficiary’s out-of-pocket spending reaches this amount, new payment levels for future healthcare costs kick in. The beneficiary pays only 5 percent of costs, the insurer pays 15 percent and taxpayers cover 80 percent.
- Harvoni (hepatitis C treatment): $6.3 billion
- Revlimid (cancer): $1.7 billion
- Sovaldi (hepatitis C): $1.2 billion
- Copaxone (multiple sclerosis): $1.1 billion
- Gleevec (cancer): $1 billion
- Humira Pen (rheumatoid arthritis): $886 million
- Tecfidera (multiple sclerosis): $724 million
- Renvela (kidney disease): $675 million
- Xtandi (prostate cancer): $633 million
- Lantus Solostar (diabetes): $633 million
- Zytiga (prostate cancer): $623 million
- Enbrel Sureclick (rheumatoid arthritis): $586 million
- Abilify (mental illness): $555 million
- Sensipar (kidney disease): $533 million
- Truvada (HIV) $525 million
- Aripiprazole (mental illness): $504 million
- Lantus (diabetes): $484 million
- Imbruvica (cancer): $473 million
- H.P. Acthar (multiple sclerosis): $467 million
- Lyrica (seizures): $461 million
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