Top Givers Have Millions to Lose in Drug-Waste Decision

Lawmakers have criticized pharmaceutical companies for packaging infused drugs, often for cancer, in “Costco”-size containers. Medicare tracks the value of the wasted drugs that doctors report each year. A national academies committee called for that reporting to end.

Note: Money from drugs discarded does not include products that were sold by multiple companies or jointly manufactured.

Chart by Hannah Norman/KHN
SOURCE: Medicare Part B Discarded Drug Units Report from CMS, 2017-2019 Embed